TR EMERITUS

By Samantha Maiden from The Australian The Treasurer launched the 2010 Intergenerational Report today pledging to consider tax reform as a new carrot for older workers to stay in the workforce and is urging employers to think again about hiring seniors who want to work part-time. But he has conceded that while more people could help the nation fund the mounting cost of ageing population, it would also come with a cost. “It is important to keep in mind these numbers are not carved in stone. They are not targets,” Mr Swan said. “To some extent this higher population growth would help us manage the challenge of an ageing population. “But there's no doubt rising population will place pressures on us as well - on our roads, schools, hospitals on our environment and on our communities.” Kevin Rudd has previously said he believes in a “big Australia” and that while it does pose challenges, the forecast was good news for the country. “I actually believe in a big Australia I make no apology for that. I actually think it's good news that our population is growing,” Mr Rudd said last year. But the government has come under fire to explain how it would fund the infrastructure and funding costs of increasing the population from 22 million today to 36 million in 2050. The Treasurer today has also unveiled a modest $43 million policy to support mature age participation, including funding for retraining and re-skilling programs as part of his response to the 2010 Intergenerational Report. Mr Swan said the tax and transfer system was another key area that helps shape decisions on whether people work and he promised to have “more to say on this” when the government responds to Treasury secretary Ken Henry independent tax inquiry later this year. “Many will choose to leave the workforce, and enjoy a well earned retirement, for a variety of reasons,”he said in a speech to the National Press Club. “But if they want to work they should be welcomed to the workforce. If we can remove the obstacles for older Australians who want to work, we not only improve the quality of their life but we also strengthen the economy. “The tax and transfer system is another key area that affects participation and I'll have more to say on this when I respond to the report of the independent tax review.” Dr Henry has already flagged the idea of tax breaks for seniors to boost productivity, along with other measures including a road congestion tax and reforms to free thousands of PAYE earners from filing tax returns. But the government has warned it will not embrace every idea the Tax Review supports. Today's Intergenerational Report warns the number of people aged 65 to 84 years will “more than double”. “We can't expect living standards to shrink, but we do expect them to grow more slowly than they have done in the past. Faced with these pressures we need to ensure our budget is sustainable, or the quality of government services and public infrastructure will suffer,” Mr Swan said. Mr Swan's $43 million mature age workforce participation program will include raising community awareness on the benefits of older workers, support for older Australians at risk of losing their job due to ill health, injury or disability. The government will also establish a Consultative Forum to conduct research and encourage “attitudinal change” on older workers. - The Australian  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent A Facebook group to "bring Dr Silviu Ionescu back to Singapore" set up a few days ago has attracted more than 400 members so far from both Singapore and Romania: Dr Silviu Ionescu is the Romanian diplomat involved in a double hit-and-run road traffic accident in December last year which has already robbed the life of an innocent young man 31 year old Mr Tong Kok Wai. According to the creator Azzza Mac: "This is a group hoping to place pressure on the Romanian government to waive Dr Ionescu's diplomatic immunity, so that he can be extradited to Singapore to face charges for the hit-and-run case in which he killed one and seriously injured two. To top it off, he made a mockery of the local police and authorities by making a false police report that his car was stolen." Dr Silviu Ionescu initially told the police and the media that his car was "stolen". He was allowed to leave for Romania three days after the accident. The Singapore authorities, which have received much flak for their handling of the case, claimed that they were unable to do much as Dr Silviu enjoyed diplomatic immunity under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which Singapore is a signatory to. The Romanian embassy has since recalled Dr Silviu from his post in Singapore. The case has been handed over to the Romanian Prosecutor's Office whose officials said that investigations may take "several months if not years." In the meantime, Yenny Young, the widow of the victim Mr Tong, has engaged the services of Senior Counsel Subhas Anandan who is claiming more than $100,000 in compensation from the Romanian government. However, he admitted that there is little he can do till the Romanian government lifts the diplomatic immunity of Dr Silviu. According to a Romanian journalist who have been in touch with us, Dr Silviu is still an employee of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his professional status won't change until the Romanian prosecutors complete their investigations. "The ministry is closely watching the evolutions of the judiciary procedures in this case. the ministry does not have the competence to establish anyone's guilt. In Romania, the institution in charge to do so is the General Prosecutor's office", the ministry says in a statement. There is no news about Dr Silviu's whereabouts since his return to Romania. Though he is still "missing in action", he is not forgotten by angry Singaporeans and Romanians who continue to hurl brickbats at him on the Facebook "dedicated" to him. Yang Weiliang wrote: "What a shame. a life taken is a life taken, no matter who you are. If Romanian government protects him, what do you think the law system in that country is? Anyway, why did Sg law enforcement side allow him to leave. he is, afterall, a suspect in the case. anti corruption. do you know how to spell it?" Ken Wee added: "The man is a criminal and has no sense of responsibility.The Romanian govt. must take responsibility and send this man back so justice can be done for his victims." A Romanian Stefan Marincas urged Dr Silviu to return to face justice in Singapore: "Yeah, go back to Singapore, Silviu, you're a bad man, you don't deserve to be protected if you can't protect people around you, but instead you kill them. There is a romanian saying which sounds similarly with this: "The way you make your bed, is the way you sleep". You made your bed wrong, now it's time to sleep in it..." There were no further statements from both Singapore and Romania on the case which is still pending investigations from the Romanian side though the Singapore police has already concluded their investigations. The last statement was a forgettable one made by Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo: "What happened was very bad. A life was lost."  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Despite recent promises made by leaders from the ruling party to decrease the influx of foreigners and to increase the productivity of Singaporeans, foreign workers are still preferred over locals by some employers. A reader sent us this discriminatory job ad on an online job portal JobCentral.com in Singapore: [Message from Jobcentral: Someone already wrote in to us via our discriminatory ad link for the above ad. As such, we have spoken to the advertiser who posted the ad and it has been amended. We have thousands of advertisers monthly and so we do partially rely on netizens to tell us whenever something like that occurs so that we can act on it quickly. Thanks!] Though it was not stated explicitly, it is obvious that PRC applicants are preferred over Singaporeans. While the exact job scope of a "Project Coordinator" is not revealed, it is not likely to be a job shunned by Singaporeans. Such jobs advertisements are ubiquitous among Singapore's online job portals. One of our readers told us that whenever he posted a job ad on them, more than half of the applicants are foreigners. While some openly state the nationality of the workers required, others are more discreet. The Temasek Review reported a few ads which stated explicitly that "PRs and foreigners" are welcomed to apply", an euphemism for "Singapore citizens need not apply." Though they did not exclude citizens from applying for the positions on offer, the first question when our correspondent was asked when he called up the company is whether he is a Malaysian or PR. Leaders from the ruling party have been claiming that foreigners are needed in sectors shunned by Singaporeans, but evidence on the ground suggests otherwise. Foreigners are employed across all sectors of the economy including jobs traditionally reserved for Singaporeans such as counter service staff, administrators, mid-level managers and clinic assistants. One need only pay a visit to the POSB Bank and SingPost at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh to realize that a large proportion of their service staff are Filipinos. Unlike other countries which took active measures to protect the livelihoods of local workers, the Singapore government has opened the floodgates to cheap foreign labor without any prior planning to safeguard the interests of Singaporeans. In the United States, foreigners and PRs are the first to be retrenched during the global financial crisis last year. South Korean workers cost much more than Singapore workers. Despite its proximity to mainland China, it is difficult for unskilled Chinese workers to find work in South Korea. It is impossible to expect Singaporeans to compete directly with foreign workers in term of labor cost and yet they have been exhorted repeatedly by the ruling party to be "cheaper, faster and better", and now, more "productive". As part of our commitment to serve the interests of our fellow Singaporeans, the Temasek Review is currently offering free advertising space on its right-hand sidebar weekly for companies to put up jobs ad recruiting Singapore citizens only. So far, one company ShowNearby had recruited one Singaporean from its job ad on our website. At the same time, if you come across any companies who put up discriminatory job ads like the above, please take a snap shot of the ads and email us at [email protected]  Read More →