[Oyk]

A total of 67 per cent of respondents polled in July reported that they plan to increase wages over the next 12 months, with an average rise of 6 per cent.

Another 32 per cent of firms said they plan to freeze pay in the next 12 months, while 1 per cent are looking to implement pay cuts.


referring to low wage staff ?  6% of 1200 is $72
median wage is said to be $5000 included bonus and employer cPF
will be $300

I know for a fact that the healthcare sector will have to raise wages, which it must do if it is to retain doctors and especially nurses.

The increase will then be passed down to us as higher medical costs.  If the government were to subsidize the PG and MG and CHAS card holders, GST has to be increased.  There is no two ways about it.

As for other sectors, it will lead to (labour) cost-push inflation, something which I had written about before.

Companies which freeze or cut wages will cause a widening of the GINI Coefficient.  To narrow this gap, the government has to step in yet again, not to mandate minimum wages as argued by Jamus Lim but to tweak the Workfare Income Supplement/  Minimum wage will raise business costs which is not for for companies.  WIS will require raising taxes to fund the payouts, but it will tax only the well-off and big spenders.