The National Wage Council (NWC) yesterday (May 29, 2015) recommended that low-wage workers with a basic monthly salary of $1,100 or less are set to receive a pay hike of $60 in 2015/2016 if employers abide by the recommendations.

Although this could benefit some 127,000 workers, many netizens lamented that $60 is too insignificant an amount to do anything in Singapore.

Despite being the fourth consecutive year that the council has proposed a minimum built-in wage increment (it recommended $50 in 2012, $60 in 2013 and 2014), the council has been whacked for being just a wayang sideshow.

Even with the new $1,100 cap breaking the psychological barrier of $1,000, people are still not satisfied.

Although the $1,100 cap means that more workers get to enjoy increments, NWC is clearly incapable of doing the right things.

Not even the fact that productivity fell 0.8% and real basic wages rose 3.9% last year can stop the onslaught of LOLs.

And finally, even when the proportion of workers earning $1,000 and below falling (6.8% in 2014, down from 9,8% in 2012), haters gonna hate.

Oh, and this is probably the only time when a pay increment is met with a similar reaction as the transport fee hike.

All these go to show that no sane person would want DBS Chairman Peter Seah's job as head of NWC.

Considering that NWC is made up of representatives from the tripartite movement - which makes NWC the ultimate oxymoronic group - the eventual decision of an pay increment is like winning the SEA Games football gold medal (read: impossible).

On one hand, the union wants more for its workers and on the flip side, employers loathe the idea of a pay increment as any form of raise will hurt their bottom line.

With these, we recommend that NWC grows a thicker hide.

And we conclude that NWC is officially a poor thing.

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