We refer to the article “New help centre for PMEs to access career and legal advice opens in CBD” (Straits Times, Apr 9).

It states that “Professionals, executives and managers (PMEs) may now access career and legal advice at the labour movement’s new help centre at One Marina Boulevard.

The PME centre, which opened on Wednesday morning, is the second of its kind. The first one opened in January, at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability at Jurong East. It has seen about 20 cases so far, most of which were workplace grievances, said NTUC’s assistant-general Patrick Tay.”

– What is the outcome or progress of these 20 cases?

As to “Currently, unions are not allowed to represent both rank-and-file workers as well as PMEs due to a potential conflict of interest. Singapore has about 638,500 PMEs, which comprise 31.1 per cent of the resident workforce”

– SY Lee and I could not help but laugh about the above – isn’t the tripartite – the Government, only one large trade union movement headed by a cabinet Minister and the employers’ federation – fundamentally a conflict of interest?

How does the head of the union movement reconcile inherent conflicts of interest affecting workers’ rights? How can he represent the interests of workers, whilst being in the Government and the cabinet at the same time?

Are there any other countries in the world that allow such a conflict of interest?

Like they always say – let the numbers do the talking!

Just look at the following statistics to have an indication as to how poorly Singaporean workers’ may not have been protected:-

… Real income growth?

Real median income change from 2008 to 2013 was only about 1.0 per cent per annum

… for the 20th percentile – the real change per annum for the last 10 years was only about 0.3 per cent

Low wages?

… the Accomodation and Food Services industry had a total of 135,100 resident workers in June 2013. Of this – 10,600, 32,800 and  31,000 workers – had gross monthly wages of less than $500, $1,000 and $1,500, respectively.

In other words, about 74,400 out of 135,100 workers, or about 55% earned less than $1,500.

If we add the 19,600 who earned less than $2,000 – the percentage who earned less than $2,000 is about 70%.

… 45% of students are non-Singaporeans?

NUS Annual Report – if we assume that 15% of the 21,715 non-international (local) students are permanent residents (PRs) – the percentage of non-Singaporean students works out to 44.7% (11683 international + 3,257 PRs = 14,940 non-Singaporeans divided by total of 33,398 student population).

71% of graduate students are non-Singaporeans?

For graduate students, the percentage of non-Singaporeans works out to be 71.3% (4,586 international + 728 PRs (assuming 15% of locals) divided by total of 7,828 graduate student population).

… Only 28% of professors are Singaporeans?

The 2013 figures for NUS’s political science department, throw up a startling fact: 16 of its 25 faculty are foreign.

Only seven , or 28 per cent, are Singaporean.

How many non-Singaporeans employed by Government agencies?

… The Health Ministry said 14 per cent of its 390 medical social workers (as of December 2013) are foreigners.

In this connection, as there were an estimated 451,934 new citizens and new PRs granted from 2007 to 2013 – how many of the Singaporean medical social workers in the Health Ministry are new citizens, and how many PRs?

Real growth in graduates’ starting pay negative last 7 years?

… The real growth in university graduates’ starting pay has been negative in the last 7 years

So many lower-income workers?

-There were 207,100 residents earning below $1,000, 416,900 below $1,500 and 627,800 below $2,000.

Since the total workforce was 2,004,600, it means that for about 1 in 10 earn below $1,000, 1 in 5 earn below $1,500 and 3 in 10 earn below $2,000.

… Re-employment schemes not working?

Nearly three quarters of 155 women stayed in their jobs for at least three months, according to Mendaki’s subsidiary training arm, Social Enterprise Network Singapore (Sense).

The programme, called Project Step Out, catered to women above the age of 21 who had been unemployed for more than six months and wanted to find work.

Does more than half mean that only 53 per cent managed to find jobs after completing the programme?