Shortage of Cleaners
April 25th, 2022 | 
Author: 
The Straits Times headline says that the “shortage of cleaners worsens as more return to Malaysia after border re-opens”.
And to ensure that the “news” is noted by all readers, a teaser paragraph appears on the front page, and the whole article, billed the Big Story, is prominently displayed in the centre of the second page.
Is the shortage of cleaners headline news? No, Singaporeans shunning menial front line jobs is common knowledge as the pay does not commensurate with the work and the cost of living.
Perhaps the only newsy part is that instead of Malaysian cleaners streaming down south, some are quitting and going home up north. But then, they have not seen their family for a long time due to the pandemic, so nothing surprising.
So, why the Big Story?
Because it is propaganda to drive into Singaporeans that we need more foreign workers. No better place to drive home the point than a dirty hawker centre impacting the average Singaporean directly.
It also serves to prepare the ground as more foreign workers will descend onto this tiny island as the Malaysian as well as international borders re-open.
The real story is that the construction, marine, process, manufacturing, F&B, retail and other labour intensive industries are hampered by a shortage of foreign workers due to the pandemic and are now trying to bring them back. They are complaining that they have to give up deals due to a lack of workers. But there will never be enough workers if they think Singapore is a borderless country and functions without constraints.
It is really sad that it took a pandemic to reduce the number of foreign workers, but the moment normality returns, businesses are quick to pounce, and the government, instead of using this opportunity to rid them of the addiction to cheap foreign labour, is indulging them and thereby keeping labour cost down which is the least innovative way to stay competitive, and it is not without long term consequences.
For one, Singaporeans toiling in low end jobs will never earn a living wage, that is, a wage that can afford a decent and inclusive life in this country, simply because foreign workers set the baseline which will be too low for Singaporeans since foreign workers hail from cheaper countries.
For another, although businesses will be making more profits due to the influx of foreign workers, they will be adding to overcrowding, pollution, strain on amenities like public buses, MRT, roads and hospitals, but are not accountable for these so call external costs. Instead, the public will have to bear with it.
And more importantly, Singapore will be stuck with a third world workforce and productivity and quality will never match that of other developed countries.
The never ending clamor for foreigners also applies to PMET jobs. Employers are complaining that the push for a Singaporean Core is making it difficult for them to employ foreign talent, unlike the good old days when it was truly an open leg policy.
The people have made some progress in pushing back the the number of foreign workers because citizens have spoken up and the Opposition Parties have taken up the issue. As fate would have it, the pandemic has also reduced the number of foreign workers. The people must continue to speak up or else they will be swarmed because employers are pushing for more foreign talents 24/7. It’s a tug of war.
Foong Swee Fong
Posted in 
The cleaners from Malaysia make enough money ,and so,return home to retire or do own business.
Expect new ones from Myammar,Vietnam ,etc.
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xoxo:
April 25, 2022 at 4:02 am (Quote)
The cleaners from Malaysia make enough money ,and so,return home to retire or do own business.
Expect new ones from Myammar,Vietnam ,etc.
Response: Grass-Looting and Grass-Eating LEEders who previously have relied on workers from Malaysia, will be the FIRST on the FOOD CHAIN to divert their ATTENTION to new sources from Myanmar, Vietnam, etc! And as usual, they will be getting PRIORITY in the LOONG QUEUE when the FLOODGATE has OPENED since 1 April 2022!
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That is ok. $inkies have accepted their fate. After being jabbed so many times, doing manual /menial work may very well kill them. Better to get the FT to do any such work.
Come to think of it, any work is stressful and can kill $inkies. Better to give up all jobs to FT. Then $inkies will be safe.
So how will $inkies survive? Not important. They die their business.
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Very well covered, on the ills and terminal cancer under the PAP Administration SG is able to enjoy their impending Deaths and hastening the disaposra of true blue SGpns.
The people of SG is suckered to be forced to own the Straits Times while the PAP Administration POCKET ALL THE ENTIRE PROFITS derived from Fkg them.
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Toilet for coffee shop are planned for stall user,not public! Get it…
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Straits Times: Trust a ‘most precious resource’ critical in Singapore’s Covid-19 response: PM Lee Hsien Loong
PM LHL does not know the difference between “trust” and “no choice”.
The PAP terrorized Singaporeans into silence and conformity since it took over over 5 decades ago. This is NOT “trust”.
Also, most Singaporeans have an extreme case of Stockholm Syndrome after being controlled by the greedy and always self-serving PAP for so many years.
The lack of basic freedoms and a free press also made this possible.
Only the general elections despite indicates the level of “trust” for PAP. It has been declining for the last 2 decades, except for 2016 which is a “fluke” because of LKY’s death even the PAP knows this.
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always remember: their trustworthiness is 160th worldwide
what do you expect?
in my point of view only the page numbers can be trusted!
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Cleaners salary was not attractive .
Hopes MY workers could seriously look into Security industries , by 2024 , salary is approx.9k ringgit.
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Pappy always same stories to bring in all kind of foreigners.
Even LW is ex Malaysian.
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PAP is indeed the pro-alien party. This is a compelling reason for REGIME CHANGE. Throw out the pro-alien PAP at the next GE so Singaporean can move on to become a REAL 1st world country where Songaporeans are always first.
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Not enough cleaners?
So easy to resolve.
Need pass law to extend CPF withdrawal to 70 yo.
You for sure get a big number of cheap cleaners.
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Our Business Owners for both big and small companies want to recruit cheaper workers to earn larger profits. They are very greedy.
The PAP government allows them to recruit cheaper foreigners as they can get the levy imposed on foreign workers.
In my opinion, both the Business Owners and the PAP government are irresponsible as they do not care about Corporate Responsibility for the country and its people. So Singaporean citizens suffer as a result as they cannot accept low salary because of the high cost of living.
Meanwhile the PAP Ministers and their elites are paying themselves million dollar salaries.
PAP – You Die Your Business policy applies for the citizens.
Must vote PAP out in the coming GE or else our children and grand children will be suffering under the PAP.
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Cheaper-faster-BETTER???
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HK actor Benz said the best. Sinkies are spoilt. As a boss I’ll tell them go and eat shits. KPKB for what???
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs/spore-workers-want-bosses-to-listen-to-their-flexi-work-needs-ips-survey
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In the 70s – 80s SG was spotlessly clean which the whole wide world knows AND SALUTED us.
The time no one heard of lack of cleaners. Besides there aren’t 10s of 100s cheap Ah Peks and Grannies to enlist as cleaners for exercises.
Partly it was attributed to the very very hard working Othman Wok, Chua Sian Chin, cheaper Ministers who worked hard at the ubiquitous KEEP SG CLEAN campaigns, campaign after campaign after campaigns, untirelessly. Even when they wee health and environment ministers. KY rewarded Encik Othman Wok with a Gold Medal for Cleaning up SG River.
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Most cleaners in hawker centers are local seniors, not many Malaysian. Since PAP started the return tray policy, many of the cleaners were fired.
When the work load in hawkers centers were reduced, many cleaners were fired but the cleaning contractors did not reduce the fee paid by hawkers. The contractors not only pocket the fee from hawkers but also pocketed the subsidy for installing the tray return stations too!
The consequences is dirty tables and stacked up used trays and utensils at the stations!
Blaming Malaysian cleaners returning back to Malaysia is only a lame excuse to allow more Malaysia workers coming into Singapore to work, not as cleaners but something else like waitresses and chefs.
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Locals have always been PAP smeared and they (and their pathetic if any descendants at all) can continue to lick it. Agree with many on this forum that it is about being fairly paid for the job. Cleaning is only menial because we are not fairly paid for it. It is shameful that Singapore exploit the less fortunate when the locals insist on licking PAP smears by not voting out PAP (or at least voting out enough of them for starters).
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Why blame foreigners when it is clearly the liars and unthinking Singaporeans that allow such open leg policy to proceed whether it is pre-pandemic or post-pandemic……of course the minority will have to suffer with them…..
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Singapore is addicted to cheap foreign labour. And why not? As a business, a construction or cleaning company, or even a family needing domestic help, it is cheap and affordable. But what is the cost?
I’ve always believed mostly in free market principles, that is, demand and supply should determine price, for the most part, because there are always exceptions. So, if you paid what is appropriate, you’d get locals to be construction workers, cleaners, gardeners, politicians etc you’d also find there would be a drive towards efficiencies with more mechanization and automation with better tools. If there was underpayment or over payment resources would be skewed away or to specific fields or areas.
I am not an economist, but isn’t there also leakage in the circular flow of money when significant amounts of money paid to foreigners is remitted out of the country?
I am not advocating for no foreign labour but for a healthy balance where locals form a strong core in all areas; in construction, cleaning services, finance, IT, F&B and others.
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This is the truth.
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Is SG truly a free market, a hands free economy? Well obviously in the free world, democratic world, esp in the West, technically there’s no free market economy. But, however, there are many instances where many Govts do NOT have their fingerprints all over.
And in SG, this F-king PAP Administration attribute their non interferences when it suits them, like COE bidding (they STRICTLY influence car population and OWNERSHIPS), dorm provisions, labor competition market.
DO the PAP Administration CARED MUCH for national interests, SGpns interests, OR THEIR power base impact interests – which is which.
Finally, look at newspaper business – A POLITICAL monopoly OR A BLOODY fake free market, comprise of pseudo shares listing of SPH in SGX, which IS NOW A CRUEL piece of compulsory national ownership by the people, but of A CONTROLLED press, people FULL BEARING of costs of news and news dissemination but controlled by evil by DICTATORS.
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We should hire locals but we need a MINIMUM LIVING WAGE!
Too many outsiders make the country ROJAK……….not the eating one?
And for God’s sake innovate using machines and suckers.
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******
Shortage of cleaners !!!
Seriously !!!
Is that it ?!!
SG is in dire dire desperate need of proper public servants and sane citizens !!!
This need should be publicised to the world at large !!!
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******
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This one is SUPER, it’s power.
Only the PAP Administration has us to BELIEVE and ACCEPT their agenda – constantly HARPING repeatedly ‘no one wants to work’ …..blah blah.
So PAP thus,
-no one wants to be their politician, therefore PAP raise OWN PAY to attract talents. Take a look at any Monster in Parliament, are they talents bcz of high pay enticement to be politician?
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We have shortage of cleaners and no shortage of ministers. Why? Money, of course. You pay cleaners as well as ministers, there will be no shortage.
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So very well said.
We just cannot hold back repeating the truths.
1, no one wants to work is a pap BS. if the pay is the same as the pap kind of S$m per annum on an ownself justify ownself basis, any job in the island shall have an applicants’ queue running from Marina South to Woodlands, from Tuas to Changi.
2, all the decent Singaporeans don’t join pap. They join PSP WP. Look at the folks in PSP WP. Everyone is a prime minister material. Look at Mr Leong MW. Look at Ms Hazel Poa. Look at Ms He Ting Ru. Look at Dr Jamus Lim. Look at all of them. Everyone of them is far better than even pap laulan wong.
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The Emperor Dowager’s retinue of self-entitled elitists need to freeload large$$e from the extremely lucrative (and irrational) levy taxes on employers of foreign workers. The Singapore sheeple is just another economic digit – his or her cpf does not go into uncle lee’s treasury directly… but it will be meandered towards that direction via hdb mortgage and medisave payments nonetheless.
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There is increased amount of public littering in line with an artificially augmented population.
NEA needs to step up vigilance before once CLEAN N GREEN SG turns into A Garden in a Messy City?
Stop blaming sgs for all the SOCIALLY BAD THINGS that accompany the HEAVY INFLUX OF so-called FTs.
Even ang mohs,supposedly more developed and cultured ,are misbehaving and break our laws.
Recent spate of ANG MOH AGRESSION N VIOLENCE inflicted on their sg-hosts is a clear sign of such decadence.
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Remember when someone offered $3000/pm for dish washing job on TV, there was 220 applications. That was about 10 years ago. I am sure if the offer still stand, there would be a lot of applicants!
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Look at this UK dishwasher job: S$4000 to $5000.
Dishwasher
UK HAIDILAO PTE LTD 英国海底捞
United Kingdom
Apply on Laimoon.com
25 days ago
Full–time
Dish Washer**
Roles and Responsibilities: **
• Washing the dishes
• Washing glasses and hand towels
• Restaurant cleaning
Capabilities**
• Able to communicate in English clearly and able to work in a team
• Be able to find out problems and solve them
Welfare and wages**
• Initial probation period will be 3 months or less if you perform above expectation.
• Meals will be provided at all times
• Staff will be entitled to 50% discount for you and your direct family during dining
• Additional incentives will be given if your performance exceeded expectation
• There will be increment for all staff that has work more than 1 year
• All staff will be entitle to all government-defined holidays and benefits
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £2,400.00-£3,000.00 per month
Additional pay:
• Loyalty bonus
• Performance bonus
Benefits:
• Company pension
• Discounted or free food
• Employee discount
• Sick pay
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If sinkies are disciplined enough, cleaners will not be needed at all!
The shortage doesn’t speak good for sinkies as this suggests that sinkies have bad habits and they don’t want to clean up after dirtying the environment.
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Loong scolded SGpns for littering, dirtying SG – this gives BIG LICENCE and FREEDOM to foreigners TO LOOK DOWN on SG when Loong sets the Lead and PULL NO PUNCHES in DEGRADING SG.
Why foreigners KNOWS they hold the leverage over SG?
Why foreigners DISPLAY ARROGANCE that the PAP Administration rely on them?
Why STRANGELY foreigners understand and KNOW THEY CAN survive and do better than SGpns when ALL THINGS equal?
The ANSWER is clear – the PAP Administration HAS BEEN clear that SG is a SOCIETY of peoples NOT a functioning sovereign state as in all PAP speeches NO REFERENCE on the nation. Of SG of SGpns for SGpns – EXCEPT wide use of statements of ‘No One left Behind’, ‘Inclusiveness’, ‘All SGpn matters’.
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We disagree.
From what we see, dirtying the environment in pap island is due to all the aliens PRs in its midst.
The Msians, ceca ah nehs, pinoy pinays, etc., all bring with them their bad habits, especially dirtying the environment.
We live across the causeway. We don’t dirty it. Because it is not in our habit. We don’t credit it to pap but since birth to now we don’t feel good even to leave a piece of tissue anywhere.
Singaporeans, even the cotton sheep ones, are all of same mold when it comes to cleanliness.
Therefore.
Dirtying the environment in pap island is due to all the aliens PRs in its midst.
Remember.
There are 1.3 aliens PRs to anyone 1.0 Singaporean.
Far too many aliens PRs leading to so much more dirtying the environment.
When we were living in pap island, before pap liar lky son the chief clown took over from wooden goh, where got such thing as dirtying the environment? Singapore, then, was the exemplar of how to run a clean city state.
Fast forward after 2004, even before the HLP protests about too many aliens PRs in the island, within that short span of few years, the pap island became rubbish dump from clean city state exemplar.
Sure. blame cotton sheep for always voting pap. But it is wrong to blame cotton sheep for dirtying the environment. It ain’t so. The ones dirtying the environment are the 3.9m aliens PRs from Msia, ceca ah neh land, pinoy pinay land, etc. that pap allowed into island.
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No lah, u r dead wrong!
U no “ monkey see monkey do “?
If sinkie is so well behaved, FTs will follow the good example what!
U frequent hawker food centres?
Overwhelming majority of the people there are sinkies, they are responsible for at least 90%, if not more of the environmental pollution in hawker food centres across Sinkiland!
If sinkies are well disciplined and not educated illiterates, most problems would be 90%, if not more, solved!
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You got brains or not? Find us a country where cleaners are not needed at all.
Even the famous “toothpick” restaurant has cleaners.
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