On Productivity and Car Wash

We do not need those govt survey to tell us what we know and can see with our own eyes. Productivity in S'pore has been going down the drain in the past 2 decades.

Take car wash for example. During the 1980s-1990s, most of the petrol stations automated their car wash process.  Some even boost of having the longest car wash lane. It was operated by 2 staff - to ensure the operation ran smoothly and to dry the car (the washed car was air dry, but another round of drying was done manually).

Since the influx of cheap labour, car wash is done manually at petrol stations. It is operated by 5 to 6 workers.  So the work force has gone up around 200% !  The excuse the govt gives for the large influx foreign workers is always we need workers to do the work S'poreans do not want.  But there are many work processes that can be automated  Even those like car wash which has been automated was not maintained because of cheap labour. Cheap labour is an additive drug that is ruining S'pore, beside causing social issues due over crowding of the small city state.

The govt keeps reinforcing the wrong value which discourages our youth to take up blue collar jobs. If the job is demanding and 'undesirable' - it should command better paid. Unfortunately it is not so and these workers are paid dirt. Both locals and foreigners workers are at the losing end of these flawed govt policies.