Recently, Dr Walter Theseira, transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) commented in a Channel News Asia article that having more young private hire drivers (PHVD) for the long term can raise societal issues such as significantly harming lifetime wages and career opportunities.
True as it may be, however, as a spouse to a PHVD, I’ve never been shy to tell people that my Husband is a “Grab driver”.
Back in 2015, my Husband first drove for Uber when the ride-hailing transport service launched nationwide in Singapore.
At that point of time, it was the most calculated option as we just had our first child, and staying on our own meant that we had to commute every morning from our home in Punggol to my parents’ in Woodlands to drop our baby off, before heading to work in the city.
The journey to and fro took us more than two hours each day.
Feeling like he was in a dead-end job at a company where he was underpaid and underappreciated, my Husband took a leap of faith and resigned from his desk job so that he could earn more and have more flexibility in his schedule to look after our baby.
With Uber and Grab, it was possible. He was just 30 years old then.
After becoming a PHVD, he was able to send our two daughters every morning to my parents’ place before turning on his driver app, up until they each turned 18 months. That ‘gig’ took 3 years of his life and he hasn’t looked back since.
Yes, now my Husband lacks a career path, doesn’t have any “marketable skills” for his resume, and his business degree may have been a waste of time and money; but what he did was a selfless act of sacrifice for our family.
So when people think that private hire drivers are lowly-educated, earn little to none, or can’t find employment, I really cannot take part in their misguided pity party.
Because guess what? Sometimes having a particular job is a circumstantial choice. Sometimes it’s a personal choice. Why do we need to question it? Why do we need to feel like we’re mightier than others when we work in a cushy job and an air-conditioned office, but still have to report to someone of higher authority?
As long as one works hard, sets targets and achieves his goal, any job can be a rewarding one.
But even if you have no skills or are lowly-educated, any job that pays the bills and feeds the family is good enough, and that’s all that truly matters.
So to the blue-collared workers, freelancers, and those performing ‘gig’ economy jobs, I say strive on, because even if strangers don’t know your worth, those who love you will value your earnest effort to make a good life.
In honour of Father’s Day, I thank you, dear Husband, for the sacrifices you have made for our little family. Thank you for the example you set and for your leadership in our family. We feel so lucky to have you.
https://medium.com/amcmsg/confessions-of-a-grab-drivers-wife-28df68f44c77
Lim Tean is shaping up to be a legitimate threat to the PAP dogs; they must be presently scratching their heads damn fucking hard over how to fix him for good.
Lim Tean is very angry that 6 in 10 graduates are unemployed under PAP!
[SHOCKING!] Nearly 60% of young university graduates are jobless
SINGAPORE (June 28): Fresh out of university and raring to join the workforce? We’ve got bad news for you: More than half of young university graduates here remain unemployed.
In comparison, only 2.7% of all degree holders across the age groups were unemployed, according to MOM’s latest first quarter labour market report.
To be fair, the startling statistic for young graduate unemployment may be due to the pursuit of higher education or alternative careers such as entrepreneurship.
But experts agree that there is a large proportion of young and educated individuals who are just not able to secure a job – whether permanent or temporary.
Now, there is even an acronym for this group of people: NEETs, or Not in Education, Employment or Training.
The latest available data on these individuals, from the National Youth Survey in 2016, shows that there are 20,100 Neets here, making up 4.1% of the resident youth population.
In 2013, there were 19,700 Neets, comprising 3.7% of the resident youth population.
With the number of Neets on the rise, policymakers will be under pressure to find solutions to address their inability to secure a job.
MOM data for 1Q19 shows that the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons is 1:1.08, indicating that there are more job seekers than positions available. This is down from the 1:1.10 ratio recorded last December, as 10,700 new jobs were created in 1Q.
Yet, why is it that fresh graduates seem to be having a harder time than others in securing employment? Are they – the so-called “strawberry generation” – being too picky?
Is it just a cyclical issue, owing to the current uncertainties over the health of the global economy, which is exacerbated by geopolitical tensions?
Or, is it a consequence of a deeper, structural problem in Singapore’s economy?
Whatever the case, the class of 2019 and all other recent graduates with difficulties finding jobs, are in danger of being young, educated, ambitious – and jobless.
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/issues/labour-market/close-6-10-young-graduates-remain-unemployed-mom
Retrenched young working Singaporeans cannot find jobs; Many turn to becoming a private-hire driver
It was recently reported in the media that a young Singaporean in his late 20s lost his engineering job and was unable to secure another job.
Feeling hopeless, he holed himself up at home, mostly playing computer games and eventually developed the “hikikomori” syndrome.
The term “hikikomori” was coined by Japanese psychologist Tamaki Saitoō in the late 1990s, referring to those who experience physical isolation, social avoidance and psychological distress for six months or longer. There are often underlying psychological tendencies, such as low self-esteem and perceived social rejection, said Singaporean researcher Liew Kong Meng.
As a result, the Singaporean man did not leave his house for 3 years and became a social recluse. He would even cut his own hair so as to avoid going out for haircuts. All these while, he was supported by his wife, who worked as a clerk.
Eventually, his wife got fed-up and divorced him last year.
On the other hand, other young working Singaporeans who lost their job and couldn’t find one end up driving Grab.
44% of licensed private hire car drivers are young working Singaporeans
Last month in Parliament, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan was asked to disclose the breakdown of the current number of taxi drivers and private hire car drivers by their respective age groups. Minister Khaw replied that as of February this year, there are about 41,000 Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVL) holders and 99,900 Taxi Driver’s Vocational Licence (TDVL) holders.
The age breakdown is as follows:
In other words, some 44% of licensed private hire car drivers fell into the age group of 20-39 years old.
Shaun Ow, 39, was working in the private sector for some 11 years in various industries before he was retrenched 4-5 years ago. He then tried to find a job for more than a year before giving up. He ended up driving Grab to make ends meet.
He told the media that he has been a private hire car driver for the last three-and-a-half years and manages to earn about $5,000 a month, after accounting for rental, fuel and other miscellaneous charges. But he has to work very hard, driving everyday for 12 to 14 hours non-stop. On average, he would be making 20 to 25 trips daily.
“Passengers sometimes think our job is easy – sitting in an air-conditioned environment is easy. But I always tell them: You find one weekend, have two one-hour breaks for lunch and dinner, and sit in a comfortable sofa for 12 hours just watching TV. You will feel sore backs, sore shoulders, sore necks, sore everywhere,” he said.
“We always have to be alert, vigilant (of) traffic. We can be very careful, but traffic is always moving with motorists, pedestrians and now with PMDs (personal mobility devices) – that is a lot of grief.”
Prof: How come pay of our diploma holders with specialized training worse than those achieved by ‘gig’ economy workers?
Prof Walter Theseira, an economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), noted that the take-home pay for private hire car drivers is “competitive” with the many entry-level jobs for educated younger workers.
But he said that having a large number of young people driving Grab for the long term raises some issues.
“The jobs offer no career path and do not provide workers with significant marketable skills. This means that workers in such jobs will inevitabl end up disadvantaged compared to their peers who are able to stay in jobs that offer a career path and the opportunity to build marketable skills,” he added.
“If workers are attracted to private hire driving and other ‘gig’ economy jobs and spend too long in them early on, their lifetime wages and career opportunities could be harmed significantly.”
“What we should really think about is why many of the jobs that employ our NITEC and poly diploma holders pay comparably or worse than the earnings achievable by gig economy workers. This doesn’t make any economic sense because NITEC and diploma holders actually have extensive training to perform a particular skilled job,” Prof Theseira further noted.
“These are workers who have received two to three years of specialist training. Why does the market pay them the same or less than a gig economy platform does for a job that requires virtually no training whatsoever?”
Actually, Prof Theseira doesn’t need to look far for an answer. It is embedded inside the MOM data:
Because the market can get cheaper “foreign talents” to work in companies, helping to depress the salaries of our NITEC and poly diploma holders even if they have received two to three years of “specialist training”. As an economist, Prof Theseira should be quite familiar with the concept of demand and supply.
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2019/06/25/retrenched-young-working-singaporeans-cannot-find-jobs-many-turn-to-becoming-a-private-hire-driver/
She's 'happy' until a better, wealthier man comes along.
Ignore what women say, instead observe what they do in reality.
Look at all the nonsensical replies tsk tsk. If I were his wife I would have been proud of him too.
Her hubby graduated from SIM siboh?
The husband was probably feeling extremely unhappy and underappreciated being stuck in a job not paying quite enough.
He is making an honest living by driving for Grab. Most importantly is that the family is happy and supportive. What's the point of being a high flyer earning plenty but feeling downright miserable all the time?
My money says this woman will end up getting porked by a man earning much more, thus gifting her hubby a nice solid green cap.
FAKE STORY!!!!!!