Bridging the wage divide - together

Low-wage workers were the focus of attention at an animated public forum last week on ways to bridge Singapore's widening income divide, organised by SMU and anti-poverty group One (Singapore). Discussing ways to bridge the gap, the speakers - Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Halimah Yacob, financial consultant Leong Sze Hian and opposition politician Nicole Seah - agreed that wages of the working poor must rise and so must social spending. The three speakers eschewed the idea of a minimum wage, as prevalent in most developed countries.