Firms are finding it hard to hire staff for outlets downtown – in the Central Business District and Orchard Road – compared to suburban areas. The reason for the difference? Workers baulk at longer, costly commutes and pricier meals. A member of the public had written in to The Straits Times Forum to suggest that firms adopt the equivalent of a “London weighting” for low-wage workers to encourage them to work in central areas. On the proposed scenario of forcing firms to cough up the additional quantum for workers working downtown, Associate Dean of the SMU School of Economics, Professor Hoon Hian Teck said that this would drive them to desperate measures. “They will try to lower unit costs by making workers work longer hours or cut their allowances,” he added. “Welfare is compromised.” On the scenario of giving firms the option to opt in for the weighting, Prof Hoon said that in extreme cases, a firm may even price itself out of the market, leading to a shutdown and job losses. An alternative method suggested by Prof Hoon was for firms to reconfigure the way jobs are allocated.