In Singapore, per capita GDP is large but hourly wages and prices are not necessarily appropriate

Even if Coca-Cola in a vending machine or a convenience store's PET bottle is 300 yen, it may be normal if the minimum wage is land of 1500 yen per hour. On the contrary, what if the coke is 250 yen but the hourly wage is 600 yen? The per capita GDP per person in Singapore is beyond Japan, but hourly wages written on the recruitment postings were subtle amounts.

Hello, I have traveled to 149 countries so farTakuya Sudo @ circle around the world bicycle @ Charridermanis. Compared with Norway and Switzerland where per capita GDP is high, Singapore seemed not to be balanced between the lowest wage and the price. Oil producing countries in the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that have many migrant workers will overlap.

◆ Fast development
From 1960 to 1990 with Korea, Taiwan and Hong KongAsia Four Little DragonSingapore showed remarkable progress as. When I visited for the first time in 2007, it was not that much concerned, but after 8 years passed, I changed my evaluation completely this time. The hotel's Marina Bay Sands with a huge pool of roofs over 3 buildings and the huge botanic gardens that reminiscent of the Nausicaa's rotting waters of the Valley Gardens by the Bay, the world's leading theme With the universal studio Singapore at Park, attractive attractions are on the rise one after another, I was curious about the change.

Merlion is the mascot character of Singapore.


It is towering up to the face of the MerlionMarina Bay SandsIt is a luxury hotel called. On the rooftop there is a huge pool that overlooks the cityscape of Singapore.


Gardens by the Bay, a botanical garden that was lit up glitteringly.


◆ Per capita GDP
The per capita GDP of that Singapore is beyond Japan.World Bank dataQuoting from, as of 2014
Singapore:$ 56286 USD
Japan:$ 31,694 USD
was.

Similarly,World Bank Country GDP DataAccording to Singapore's overall GDP as of 201430,778 719 million 7186 dollars.Population data of the World BankAccording to the population of Singapore5,467,900 peopleBy dividing 307,771,770,000 7186 ÷ 5,469 9700, the per capita GDP is'US $ 56286.79You can draw out.

Why did you do such a calculation? In Singapore, a lot of foreign migrant workers are working and I was wondering if they are in the population statistics. Singapore Statistics Bureau "(Xls file)Statistics Singapore - Population and Population StructureLooking at, the total population in 2014 is 5,469,924 people, which is almost the same as the World Bank statistics.

Those with nationality of Singapore: 3,340,330 people
People with permanent residency in Singapore: 527,709 people
Foreigners with visas in Singapore: 1,598,985 people
It will be a breakdown.

Singapore's Ministry of Labor "Foreign workforce numbers"The breakdown of foreign workers was on the page that says: There are 991 thousand people as of 2014 as Visa for Work Permit who is a so-called migrant worker. They are also included in the population of Singapore.


About the population of Singapore, the following site explains in an easy-to-understand manner.

Interactive Infographic on Population
http://population.sg/infographics/


◆ Low minimum wage
Despite Singapore's per capita GDP exceeding Japan, the hourly salary offered for recruitment at the entrance to fast food and convenience stores is unresponsive. There was also an offer of 6 SGD per hour (about 525 yen) (SGD = Singapore dollar). Such a thing seems to be a target for foreign workers, there is a requirement that Singaporean only is on a poster.

The recruitment found in Singapore was like this.

In Pizza Hut, hourly wage 7 SGD (about 615 yen), deliveries 8.4 to 12.20 SGD (about 740 yen to 1070 yen).


In KFC, the cash register business is 6 SGD (about 525 yen), the kitchen operation is 6.5 SGD (about 570 yen).


The convenience store costs 7.55 SGD per hour (about 665 yen)


The restaurant costs from 6 to 9 SGD per hour (about 525 to about 790 yen)


Clinic hourly wage 7 SGD (about 615 yen)


Daiso is 6 SGD (about 525 yen) hourly wage on weekdays and 9 SGD (about 790 yen) on a holiday. This seems to be full of uniforms, transportation expenses, meals, night work and various benefits. ④ SHOP HELPER (Elderly workers) seems to be a recruit for senior citizens, which was written as 5 SGD hourly wage (about 440 yen) on weekdays and 7.5 SGD (about 660 yen) on holiday on weekends.


In Saizeriya, hourly wage is 7 SGD (about 615 yen) on weekdays and hourly wage 9 SGD (about 790 yen) on holidays. This is the condition that it is Singaporean only.


In the Japanese restaurant such as Osaka kingdom and Ajinomori ramen, hourly salary was 7 to 10 SGD (about 525 to about 880 yen). Here is also the condition that only Singaporean people.


There seems to be benefits such as bonuses and medical expenses in Singapore, so I can not compare it with the Japanese working environment. However, even if so, construction workers and domestic workers, who account for the majority of foreign workers, work at a low wage.

For foreign workers who work at low wages, the following articles are also available.

Singapore's wealth and shadow, the present situation of migrant workers
http://jp.ibtimes.com/articles/364941

Mr. Kahn wanted to earn money for his family. We paid a labor recruitment company about 330,000 yen (4,200 Singapore dollars) and decided to do construction work of 2,250 yen (27 dollars) per day in Singapore. However, when I came to Singapore, the actual daily salary was 1,160 yen ($ 14). Mr. Kahn had no choice but to respond because he had not signed a contract with the document. Last September, Khan fell down from the roof of the work site and hurt my back. And it was fired.

【Rhythm】 The Limit of Foreign Maid Nursing Care Singapore's Aging (1/3 Page) - Sankei News
http://www.sankei.com/world/news/140607/wor1406070038-n1.html

According to government statistics, there are 210,000 foreign nationals such as Indonesia and the Philippines. There is also a cheap that the monthly salary is between 350 and 550 Singapore dollars (about 28,000 to 44,000 yen), and it is a calculation that one household is hiring in five households.

That is why I did not feel any discomfort in the low wages of industries such as eating and drinking and selling.

Then, the question of what people of Singaporean citizens work in such low wage service industry will come up. If it is in Japan, a part-time worker saves and goes on a journey around the world, can people do the same thing in Singapore? If you can get a job at a top company with excellent academic skills, it will be a country with no inconvenience, but if you can not get out of the bottom trampling somewhere else, you will be wondering what kind of life you will live.

◆ Prices in Singapore
It seems that such a low wage group is being pulled by, so there was unevenness in the price of Singapore. It is different from high-income countries Norway and Switzerland where everything was expensive. Listing the prices of Singapore which was less expensive than Japan ......

It is possible to move by 2.5 SGD (about 220 yen) using MRT (subway) to the outram · park station near the inn that stayed from Changi International Airport. This price at a distance of 21.5 km. If you use a contactless IC card such as Suica, it will be cheaper.


Chicken rice of Hawkers (food court) was 3.5 SGD (about 310 yen). As a Japanese crowd, the Hawkers' meal used by the general population of Singapore is cheaper than Japan.


Burger King's cheap hamburger set was 4.95 SGD (about 435 yen).


On the other hand, it is a convenience store that I felt that the price is higher than Japan overall and can not be used. Even my myself who live in Japan at the minimum, I have lunch boxes, pack drinks and private brands of sweets, so I will use convenience stores. Taiwan is similar in feeling, it is generally expensive, but if you buy it collectively it will be cheaper than supermarket. Considering this, the convenience store in Singapore was quite expensive compared to the supermarket and the Hawkers and could not be used at all.

Seven - Eleven in Singapore.


Daiso of 100 yen shop was 2 SGD (about 175 yen) uniform in Singapore. Items that are in the 100 yen shop can be bought at a price similar to that of Japan, if it is a central grocery store. Overseas Daiso stores have places with a little higher price than prices.

Daiso where you get the same items as Japan.


Even in the vicinity of Little India, which was goofy, it is cheap to come in various ways ... ....


It is the ordinary stratum that occupies a majority, not a few affluent, that determines the price of that country. Regardless of how much wealthy people have money, Coca-Cola and McDonalds put the price that ordinary people can reach. That is why the price of Singapore seemed to be the oil-producing countries of the Middle East such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which also have low wage foreign workers in the same way. In those countries too, the price is not that expensive as the per capita GDP is high.

◆ Thinking about Japan
Certainly, although the policy that attracts wealthy people from abroad has enriched Singapore, the price of land soared due to the influence. Although the original land is small, the vast majority of the general people live in public housing called HDB, and there are voices repelling against the wealthy people.

【Topics】 Singapore's Alien Receiving Measures to be Revised | Japan Research Institute
https://www.jri.co.jp/page.jsp?id=26600

Normally, people's dissatisfaction with foreign workers tends to be directed to low-skilled workers, but in Singapore some high-skilled workers, including permanent residents, are also directed. The major dissatisfactions of the people are: ① the entrance to the university and the job of getting into a good company are narrowed by foreigners gathering from all over the world ② the government is trying to attract highly skilled workers from abroad It is unfair for the incentives that you are going to make, ③ Foreigners who hold permanent residency Many high-skilled workers do not try to acquire nationality, avoiding obligations such as military service accompanying it, etc. .

Also, dissatisfaction of foreign workers, which accounts for the majority of low-income people, is exploding.

Singapore: withdraw the prosecution of a striking Chinese bus driver - Amnesty International Japan AMNESTY

The labor strike in November triggered that among the drivers who work for the SMRT (Singapore State Public Transport Agency), the wages of the Chinese are much lower than those of other drivers. Chinese immigrants account for about one quarter of the company's 2000 drivers.
In the previous month of the strike, the drivers were told that the Singapore dollar (about 3700 yen) wage increases. However, Chinese-registered drivers are excluded from wage increases, while Malaysian drivers are Singapore dollars (about 100,000 yen), whereas Chinese have 1075 Singapore dollars (about 80,000 yen It was supposed to be. Singaporean drivers' wages are even higher.
After the strike, in December 2012 the Singapore authorities invalidated the work permit of 29 drivers who took part in the strike and repatriated to China.

【Rhythm】 Strike of migrant worker dependent policy reflected by Little India in Singapore for the first time in 40 years (1/4 page) - Sankei news
http://www.sankei.com/world/news/140126/wor1401260035-n1.html

Last month in Singapore's Little India, the country experienced a riot for about 40 years. Arrested were migrant workers from India who are responsible for manual labor with low wages. It is pointed out that the distortion of economic growth dependent on overseas human resources is behind the riots. (Singapore Hideki Yoshimura, also photos)

In the journey up to now, the more disparate countries were the less secure and the society was unstable. On the other hand, the economic development does not advance as the country with fewer disparities. Regardless of whatever country it is, we have to move forward while balancing this contradictory issue, but for Singapore the problem of inequality appeared to stand out.

Charismatic leader in March 2015Mr. Lee Kuan YuHas passed away, politics like the whole nation which is ridiculed as "bright North Korea" are at a crossroads. Singapore is a country with an extremely electoral system favorable to the ruling party, but in recent general election the opposition breaks. This is the ruling partyPeople's action partyIn addition, we began to implement policies that are conscious of the general public. By the way, Singapore is a country where the ruling coalition has not changed since independence in 1965. International NGOs announced by reporters without bordersFreedom of the press freedom rankingSo, it is ranked 153 out of 180 countries.

In recent years, often heard "learning Singapore" is not only merit. Even in any country, I have problems, so it is necessary for people living there to think firmly. In recent Japan too, disparity problems such as irregular employment and foreign national training system are taken up largely. That is why I wrote such an article this time.

(Sentence / photo: Takuya S. Narou Charriderman
Cycling around the world for a bicyclehttp://shuutak.com
Twitter@ Shuutak)