TL;DR – In the spirit of giving, Fairprice donates $40,000 to Mendaki this Ramadhan. Fairprice will also distribute food, snacks and beverages at 60 outlets from April 3 to May 2 in the evening, when Muslims break their fast.
So many people have been complaining about the rising cost of living, and yes, while that’s a fact (because of GLOBAL inflation so the whole world’s affected), Singapore has announced many schemes and policies to help minimise its impact on us.
When we talk about the rising cost of living, we think about how this will affect our daily necessities. Will this impact me when I dapao cai png from my regular aunty during lunch hour? What about oil for my car? How about Grab?
#firstworldproblems, I know. BUT, believe it or not there are those in Singapore who might have it worse. Those from the lower-income families in Singapore need a little more help than all of us, (that’s why Min Lawrence Wong spoke about raising taxes on the rich, so that we can afford to continue providing those from the lower-income class with social transfers)
On that same note, FairPrice has donated $40,000 to Mendaki for its education programmes for children from disadvantaged families, double the amount it gave last year.
Mendaki deputy chief executive, Zulaiha Yusuf shared that more than 1,800 students have benefited from FairPrice’s contributions to its Education Trust fund. Besides the cash donation, FairPrice will also distribute food, snacks and beverages at 60 outlets in the evening, which is when Muslims break their fast.
Doing more for our workers from all walks of life
Apart from such donations, it is also important to ensure that we break the cycle for our lower-wage workers by providing them with the necessary skills they need to get better jobs, to earn better wages. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) together with tripartite partners has been pushing for the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) to be extended to the retail, food services and waste management sectors over the next two years, with the Government’s support.
First mooted by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in 2012, the scheme will be extended to in-house cleaners, security officers, landscape workers, administrators, and drivers across all sectors.
To further support local lower-wage workers, companies employing foreign workers will be required to pay all their local employees at least the Local Qualifying Salary (LQS) of at least $1,400 per month.
Additionally, a Progressive Wage Mark will be launched to accredit firms that pay progressive wages and local qualifying salary as well. The government will also require all its eligible suppliers to be accredited with the Progressive Wage Mark when they tender for government contracts from March 2023 onwards.
You can also check out what kind of support you can look forward to this year here.
