Theonlinecitizen.com
21 Jul 2008
Leong Sze Hian
I refer to the article “Tharman: Pay rises no cure for inflation” (ST, Jul 10).
It states that “Singapore must guard against a second round of inflation, which could happen if wages are raised to keep pace with price increases”.
Employers have been urged by the National Wages Council to make one-off lump sum payments to tide their workers through this period of economic difficulty.
Civil servants were paid an extra bonus recently to help them cope with inflation.
The private sector is also being encouraged now to pay an extra month’s bonus to help their employees.
So, what should employers do now?
Pay the extra month’s bonus, but don’t increase wages?
Or, increase wages, but don’t pay the bonus?
Don’t either of these amount to increasing wages?
>>>> More
