The Online Citizen, 2 Jul 2012
The first is about a cleaner who said no to a pay rise. That’s because that much lauded $50 raise advocated by the National Wages Council would put her in a higher-tier bracket for a HDB rental home. That new bracket starts at $801 a month.
It was an insightful piece highlighting how one policy change can all be for nothing if other policies do not change as well. So you get $50 more, and you lose more because you are suddenly “richer”.
The HDB’s response was to talk about flexibility and looking at things case-by-case. Not good enough methinks. Better, as the economist suggested, to base rent as a proportion of income.
I wonder what other rules, guidelines and policies affect the poor in such a way as to render such slight pay raises useless. What about guidelines on receiving aid? Or health subsidies? Is everything aligned to the new wage normal? Full story
Related:
$50 raise? No, thanks - The New Paper
