[redbean]

Laws to maintain fair recruitment.

A letter by Sangeetha Bysheim in the Today paper described her experience in applying for a job. She said that all her interviews were by expatriates. This, she concluded, could be that most of the top jobs are occupied by expatriates or two, expatriates are likely to be less discriminatory.

She had a point. And she suggested that we must have laws to prevent discrimination at work places, and in employment, especially when we are inviting more talented foreigners to take the place of less talented locals in the job market.

I have a better idea and easier to implement. Appoint all the expatriates to the top jobs of organisations, or at least as the HR Managers. This will ensure that there will be fair play and foreigners will be given a fairer chance of getting employment here.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Getting old or getting wiser

The age issue in employment is receiving more attention in a population that is growing with the baby boomers. This is the group of movers and shakers of the economy for the last 30 years and they refuse to go away. They are here to stay, like it or not. They will occupy all the seats of power and influence, and money of course, until they drop dead.

Who says people should be retiring? Is there an issue with people working to their sunset years? Is 62 a reasonable age to retire? It all depends. It depends on the physical and mental health of the worker. It also depends on the nature of the job. In more physically demanding jobs, you cannot afford to risk the lives of workers who are physically challenged to continue what they doing when young.

And in many jobs, the dexterity of the fingers and the nimbleness of the minds, as well as the pretty face of a sweet young thing make a world of a difference in getting the job done well.

Can a straight jacket law be simply introduced to be applicable to all situations? What the law could look at is a real restructuring of jobs for the oldies instead of kicking the oldies aside. There are many jobs that are suitable for oldies that have been threatened because young boys and girls think that oldies should be confined to old folks homes. On the other hand younger and physically able people could be encouraged to take on more active jobs or jobs that require more mobility.

There is no hard and fast rules when physical suitablity is concerned. But one thing of concern is the slow reaction and nearly blind uncles driving taxis. The physical checks must not just be confined to general health and the eyesight. The lost of attentiveness and slow reaction to a fast changing situation can be life threatening.

We need job restructuring rather than stringent laws that are cast in stone. But don't send all the uncles and aunties to become table cleaners and dish washers, or road sweepers.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Why complain about working to 70?

I have read some forumers complaining about having to work till 70. Now that is a shame. I would love to work until 100. I am craving, and crazily in love with work. But I have a little problem.

Can someone please offer me a job that pays $1 mil? Never mind $500k also can. I promise you that I will be the most happy worker and will not give anyone any problem.

And the CPF can do anything with my money. Withdrawal age 100 also can.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Nice Idea

Congress Votes to Outsource Presidency

May 10, 2007: Washington, DC (AP) -- Congress today announced that the office of President of the United States of America will be outsourced to India as of July 1, 2007. The move is being made in order to save the President's $500,000 yearly salary, and also a record $521 Billion in deficit expenditures and related overhead that the office has incurred during the last 5 y ears. "We believe this is a wise financial move. The cost savings are huge. " stated Congressman Thomas Reynolds (R-WA). "We cannot remain competitive on the world stage with the current level of cash outlay." Reynolds noted.

Mr. Bush was informed by e-mail this morning of his termination. Preparations for the job move have been underway for some time.

Gurvinder Singh of Indus Teleservices, Mumbai, India will assume the office of President as of July 1, 2007. Mr. Singh was born in the United States while his Indian parents were vacationing at Niagara Falls, NY, thus making him eligible for the position. He will receive a salary of $320 (USD) a month but no health coverage or other benefits.

It is believed that Mr. Singh will be able to handle his job responsibilities without a support staff. Due to the time difference between the US and India, he will be working primarily a t night, when few offices of the US Government will be open. "Working nights will allow me to keep my day job at the Dell Computer call center," stated Mr. Singh in an exclusive interview. "I am excited about this position. I always hoped I would be President." A Congressional spokesperson noted that while Mr. Singh may not be fully aware of all the issues involved in the office of President, this should not be a problem as President Bush had never been familiar with the issues either.

Mr. Singh will rely upon a script tree that will enable him to respond effectively to most topics of concern. Using these canned responses, he can address common concerns without having to understand the underlying issue at all. "We know these scripting tools work," stated the spokesperson. "President Bush has used them successfully for years, with the result that some people actually thought he knew what he was talking about."

Bush will receive health coverage, expenses, and salary until his final day of employment. Following a two week waiting period, he will be eligible for $140 a week unemployment for 13 weeks. Unfortunately he will not be eligible for Medicaid, as his unemployment benefits will exceed the allowed limit. Mr. Bush has been provided with the outplacement services of Manpower, Inc. to help him write a resume and prepare for his upcoming job transition. According to Manpower, Mr. Bush may have difficulties in securing a new position due to a lack of any successful work experience during his lifetime. A Greeter position at Wal-Mart was suggested due to Bush's extensive experience at shaking hands, as well as his special smile.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

The Risk of Stockbroking agents

Stockbroking agents, housing agents, insurance agents, taxi drivers all have one thing in common. They provide jobs to the people. Killing these professions will only bring more problems to society and anger against those whose minds are set to destroy these jobs.

Some think that these are cushy jobs that pay very well, and do not need much talent or effort. How wrong they are, and how ignorant. Every job comes with their own problems and risks. In the stockbroking industry, the people that are likely to go bust are the top remisiers.

In good times they made very good money that people will get green eyes. But all it takes is for the market to turn against them. Many top remisiers went broke when their clients incurred huge losses and disappeared or declared themselves bankrupt, leaving the remisiers to pay for their debt. This is one of the biggest risks that remisiers faced, bad debt or bad clients.

The next big risk is human error. Because every push of the button can be a deal of millions of dollars, a lapse of attention is all it takes to be down hundreds of thousands or millions. And making such mistakes is so easy. Our minds often play punks with us. Several remisiers worked up in the money and the first thing they hit was the button and instantly they are in the red, losing thousands of dollars. No joke. How to live with a $300k or $500k loss just by pushing a button?

The next risk is infringement on rules and regulations and the fines are very heavy for the smallest transgression. With the miserable commission it is just not worth the risk.

Then there are the bad clients who put the blames on remisiers when it was their own fault. And this put a lot of pressure on the remisiers, damaging their credibility and even risking being suspended from business.

The risk that the remisiers are taking is not commensurated with the miserable commission they are getting. It is not a simple push button job. They are many rules and regulations to remember and all the stocks to look out for. One day they can be laughing to the bank. The next morning they may be crying for help.

Do not be envious of the remisiers.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Boom town charlie in paradise

'Wages rising faster than at any time since 2000. By Goh Chin Lian in the front page of The Straits Times

Labour short bosses are raising wages fater than at any time since 2000, but the good times for workers could dent Singapore's competitiveness.

Workers' earnings have recorded a year on year increase of 8.5%, the largest rise since the economic boom seven years ago.

Labour experts are worried that the higher labour costs could put a dampener on the economy....'

The good times are here. With 8.5% rise in wages, whew, if one is earning $100k a month, that is $8,500 increase a month. Not bad huh! And if one is earning $1000 pm, it still works out to $85!

Now take away 2% of GST and another maybe 10% for unofficial GST due to profiteering, is it still ok? And don't forget all the increases in fees and charges and prices. How many percent would that come to?
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Cull the CEOs

Gan Kim Yong is cracking his brains to find out more ways to make organisations employ more older workers. One area to look at is the CEOs. There are still many CEOs that are anti oldies. They will get rid of oldies at the earliest opportunities. You could hear some making remarks that the old farts should not be around or giving instructions to HR to retire them at the first opportunity. Definitely no more hiring of old farts.

What the ministry and trade union can do is to open a channel for people to send in their complaints of such violation. Let the whistle blowers blow their whistles. I think that is another way to contain the problem.

Cull the CEOs that are the source of this employment problem.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

One flew over the cuckoo's nest

Few months ago it was reported in the msm that employers are willing to pay many times more for good candidates. And employees can expect higher remuneration with more pay rises. Today it is reported that employees are asking for 10% more than employers are willing to pay and employers are unwiling to pay.

It also said that Singaporean employees are now aware of their value because they were bilingual and can seek employment in China and Hongkong. Wow, bi lingual Singaporeans can now flock to greener pastures. And the vacant positions that are paying lousy money can go to the monolingual FTs.

So Singaporeans can all fly away from their nests to earn big bucks in foreign soil and the their nests can be taken over by the cuckoos.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Old workers now top national priority

This seems like fiction. A few years back, all the old hags were gotten rid off as quickly as you can say redbean. Now the old hags are treasures to be kept.

Why the sudden change of mind? Should this be part of a long term plan, properly schemed out? It cannot be one day good one day bad. What happens to being proactive, planning ahead?
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Non engineers earning more

Average salary of the top 8 professions of lawyers, bankers and accountants are all above $4m. Local manufacturers are getting only $2.7m while engineers, probably the brightest of all the professions academically, earn only $.75m. And doctors, even more bright, not even worth mentioning.

It is time to restructure our school system and channel all the bright young men and women to become lawyers, bankers and accountants.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

40s and 50s still jobless

Gilbert Goh Keow Wah wrote to Today complaining that many of his friends were still jobless and have difficulties getting a job even when they were well qualified and with a breath of experience.

How could this be? The msm have been publishing great statistics like hundreds of thousands of jobs were created and unemployment is at a record low that employers have to raise salaries to ridiculous amount to retain employees.

I think his letter is just a small anomaly. Not representative of the real situation on the ground. Not real.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[Grunt]

You put two people with the same Qualifications.

One a PR the other a Singaporean.
One is younger the other older.
One is cheaper while the other needs more.
One the country needs them to stay while the other already in the booked
completed his obligation to the country.

Better still, no matter what the statistics all will show the same no change.

So, who do you think will get the job, even in the government sector ?

[redbean]

Silver Hair Biz

With Singaporeans greying rapidly, and all very rich, at least with a big chunk of money in their Medisave, and maybe in annuities, the best business to look at is to provide life support machines to them. Many would be needing them if they are longing to live to 100 years old.

The service is very simple, just plug them into the machines when they are no longer conscious, like in Matrix, and let them hibernate for as long as there is money left in their savings. When the money dries up then it is time to switch off the machine.

Added service will be in the form of highly qualified medical professionals to do their rounds and make sure hibernators and machines are working beautifully. This will be additional cost of course.

Looking at it, a room can easily hook up 6 to 10 bodies on triple deckers. We can call this expensive network of machines as the Sago Lane Matrix.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

Near full employment

Unemployment rate at 2.1% is as good as full employment. And according to a UOB economist Ho Wei Chean, '...most locals who want a job are able to do so. There is competition but it is not creating a lot of unemployment among locals.' This is good news and as good as tooth, I mean truth. I only hope that our university graduates and professionals are happy driving their taxis. Ok, their income has risen with the taxi fare hike and they should not be complaining.

236,000 jobs were created last year and 61% or 144,000 went to foreigners. 39% went to locals or a new group called 'indigenious workforce.' I call this term ingenious for it does not tell whether they are citizens or non citizens.

Anyway full employment is better than unemployment. Parents should still spend hundreds of thousands to send their children to university and they can be assured that if all else fails, their children can still drive taxis and enjoy a mobile office.
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.

[redbean]

The Gold Collars

Amazing, the oldies are now a treasure to their organisations. They are valued for their wealth of experience and are excellent workers. And it was not too long ago when I was kpkb here about young upstarts trying to get rid of all the oldies in their organisations. And in fact a few years back many in their late 40s and early 50s were prematurely retrenched or let go. Many of these PMETs were dismissed as useless bums. Poor chaps, many ended up as taxi drivers or tuitors. Some still unemployed and ended in financial woes.

What is interesting is that those who were let go were the middle management and the not so old. The really old hags, those in their 70s and 80s, continue to hang around to collect their million dollar angpows and deem very valuable and not old.

So after the gold collar, what other collars will appear for those in the 90s? Diamond collars?
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what i posted is just my personal view. feel free to disagree.