"Dealing with the situation requires special talent and aptitude on the part of the leaders. What are the prospects of Minister Tan and union chief Lim succeeding? Unlikely, as long as the present environment remains. There are obstacles that stand in their way. Firstly, the government has a duty to protect the interests of workers during a labour conflict. Ironically, the government is also the state’s biggest employer. The government owns about one-third of Singapore’s listed companies. Its interest is to have a cheap workforce or at least not an expensive one. NTUC is a trade union movement but it also owns several companies, including insurance, taxis, supermarkets and retail businesses, which makes it a big-scale employer as well. So this voice of workers which owns a list of big businesses is also a major employer. When people clamoured for an anti-discrimination law for workers, Lim immediately said it must also be formulated to benefit the bosses. In his view, a good worker is a cheap worker, something that Lim has advocated publicly."
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 01:52:32 +0000
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