Search the Community

Conservancy workers at the 15 PAP Town Councils will soon be able to earn more under a progressive wage model salary structure. Under the new salary structure, the salary of cleaners will start from S$1,200 a month, up from an average of S$1,000 currently. PHOTOS VIDEOS A town council conservancy worker (file photo) Enlarge Caption SINGAPORE: Conservancy workers at the 15 PAP Town Councils will soon be able to earn more under a progressive wage model salary structure. Under the new salary structure, the salary of cleaners will start from S$1,200 a month, up from an average of S$1,000 currently. However, residents may have to pay more for service and conservancy charges. Coordinating chairman of the PAP Town Councils, Dr Teo Ho Pin, said: "Definitely, when we improve our services to better serve our residents, the cost of maintenance will increase. So, at some point in time we will need to revise the S&C charges. "But I think our residents understand that quality comes with a price. We want to do this to achieve a few objectives. First, is that we would like to better serve our residents -- so that we can enhance the conservancy standards in all our housing estates, in all the 15 PAP Town Councils. "Secondly, we want to support the government's effort to increase the salary of the low-wage workers and also to protect the employment benefits of the low-wage workers." The PAP Town Councils signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 19 conservancy contractors to pay them according to the recommended salary. As the worker upgrades to be a supervisor, he can earn S$1,600 and above. However, even with the higher salaries, companies said attracting workers is still a challenge. Dennis Tan, general manager of LS 2 Services, said: "To be honest, estate cleaning... it's a harsh environment. It requires block sweeping, outdoor sweeping. So, I think we still face challenges. "But with the implementation of progressive wage, we hope that more workers will join our cleaning industry. With more training and improvement of productivity, I hope this industry can be professionalised." - CNA/ac

champion!! speechless [laugh]

Fatal accident this morning along Jurong Townhall Road Pls drive and ride carefully everyone.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/aim-won%E2%80%99t...-080844932.html

http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/01/22/tcs-d...o-aim-for-140k/ In the last 20 years, he had worked in a number of companies but of particular interest is his job in NCS as Deputy Director, Enterprise Software group from Oct 2001 to Mar 2004 (about 2.5 years). Further enquiry into LinkedIn showed that Mr Tan listed one of his key achievements while doing sales in NCS as: Key Achievement: - S$30 million deal with Singapore Town Council. Software license at S$5 million.

This weird fatal incident happened last year. According to autopsy, the deceased died of hypothermia and alcohol intoxication and the cold room can be opened from inside as part of chiller room safety feature. Can I say Raffles Town Club cold room haunted liao? http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/...227-404987.html

been to this place..over weekend ...for dinner... taken sometime to get to this place...cos not in my GPS.... or google map..... this place is pretty new.. this is not key.... pls dun pinpoint on this .... to my surprise.... This Create University Town - is just like A FT Town.. full with bollywood... it's citizens... spouse..and family.... probably they are residing there.. Not sure if you feel the same.... for those had been there....do u feel feel the same for bollywood town.. not sure how much we have imported by opening the gate....... the best part..when i look at them.. give me a papaya look face......OMG....

This place is super quiet !!! Where is everybody?!?!

Some interesting stats. Population by town

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/town-councils--el...bills-soar.html """""Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bishan-Toa Payoh group representation constituency (GRC) Hri Kumar, who is also the area's town council chairman, said that the council's utility expenses shot up from $5.9 million in 2005 to $8.2 million in the previous financial year due to a rise in electricity tariffs. The council's electricity bill accounts for around 22 per cent of residents' S&CC. In his message entitled "A Very Nasty Shock" on the council's website""""" I think his shock is a little slow leh....I think alot of us already karna shock until .... [sweatdrop] ...........haiz.....looks like he never bother to read his house PUB bill..

Grooming Package any takers?

CNA Town council management report is politically motivated, says Chiam By Tan Weizhen, TODAY | Posted: 11 July 2011 0653 hrs SINGAPORE: Former Opposition Member of Parliament Chiam See Tong on Sunday criticised the latest Town Council Management Report (TCMR) - which showed that the town council of his former Potong Pasir ward had improved in three of the six indicators - as being "politically motivated". Despite the improvements, the Potong Pasir town council remained among the worst performing according to the report, which was released last Friday. For example, while most town councils achieved a Level 1 rating for service and conservancy charges arrears management, the town councils of Opposition-held Hougang and Potong Pasir fared worst in this area. Mr Chiam, 76, had helmed the Potong Pasir ward for 27 years until the General Election - which was held in May - when he moved out of the ward to lead a team to contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. Mr Chiam and his wife Lina, who had contested in Potong Pasir, were both defeated. The Ministry of National Development (MND) had said that the third TCMR - it was introduced in 2009 - covered the period from last October to March this year and was based on pre-General Election town boundaries. Despite the MND's pronouncement that the assessment was carried out before the GE, Mr Chiam said in a media statement yesterday: "The HDB has now decided to award Potong Pasir constituency with a consolation prize after the GE by reporting that (its town council) has made the biggest gains with higher scores recorded for three out of six indicators." Mr Chiam added that he did not believe the report. "At all material times, I have been maintaining the estate well. (The report) is politically motivated," he said. When asked to respond to Mr Chiam's statement, Potong Pasir MP Sitoh Yih Pin reiterated that the "most important thing now is for us to move forward and improve the living conditions of Potong Pasir residents". "We also have to ... improve the overall maintenance of the town council," said Mr Sitoh. He added that a working committee was formed last month to look into "why the families are in arrears". - - TODAY/fa

Gys BMW hydrogen car coming. Just wonder how CNG and Hydrogen will florish/die in Singapore. Cheers Hydrogen-powered cars to make its way to Singapore By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 February 2008 1456 hrs Photos 1 of 1 Related Videos Hydrogen-powered cars to make its way to S'pore SINGAPORE: The availability of an environmentally friendly car has just widened. Besides popular choices like hybrid cars or even those running on compressed natural gas, the hydrogen car is another choice. However, it is more than just a case of supply and demand when purchasing these cars. Touted as one of the greenest cars available today is the BMW 7 Series. Its only emission is water, when it is powered by liquefied hydrogen. BMW believes using hydrogen fuel will help save the environment and reduce the dependence on crude oil. This next generation green car can also run on petrol in the same engine as hydrogen fuel is not readily available yet. Running a car using hydrogen, however, will cost more. A kilogramme of liquid hydrogen costs about US$11 or about S$16. Covering 100 kilometres with a hydrogen car will end up costing US$42 or about S$60 for the fuel. If it ran on petrol, it will cost US$27 or about S$38. These figures are based on European petrol and hydrogen fuel prices. The Hydrogen 7 model is likely more expensive than petrol only versions. Roland Krueger, Managing Director of BMW Group Asia, said: "The comparison is not really fair, meaning that today the infrastructure is not as developed as fossil fuel structure. So given that we will have a comparable base with the same kind of infrastructure, then the price of liquid hydrogen will be much more comparable." However, it still boils down to the question of which comes first - building refuelling stations or making more hydrogen cars? Fred Zheng from Hydrogen Solutions said: "The first, I believe is government support, second is establishing infrastructure in place." "The third is - we need to have economies of scale with the production of cars to make the cars cheaper and fourth is - find a way to have R&D and making hydrogen cheaper," he added. In Singapore, this hydrogen push has the support of the National Environment Agency, the Singapore Environment Council and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. It still remains to be seen if this would be enough to generate a nationwide network of refuelling stations. So far BMW has made some 100 hydrogen vehicles, but it will be some years to go before it becomes commercially available. BMW will bring several of its latest hydrogen cars to Singapore in early March for trials. - CNA/vm

Good Evening Bros and Sis I am Cerano's son. Today my dad was involved in a very bad accident with a Lorry which ran a light and drifted and rammed into him while he was on his way to work on a motorbike. This accident occured at roughly 9am off Jurong Town Hall Road at the T Junction beside the Science Centre. I am appealing to all motorists who were in the area and were live witnesses to step up. My dad is now is hospital having an operation he is suffering multiple lacerations and major trauma to his leg as well as 5 fractured ribs. The Lorry literally flattened the motorbike. Please pass the word and help me out here. Thank you

Wonder if it happens to many est. or if it have become a common sight...... It happens pretty often here in my blk 643 amk ave 5 , contractors leaving behind debris like this. 2 occasion in 3 weeks and even calling TC nothing seems to happen. Are they really so Bzi?? Rubbish can be easily spotted along corridors & stairways Kinda guess nobody bother about the safety of seniors or children who might trip and fall. Just wonder what actually do those who on duty doing. Maybe bzi on the forum posting too i guess......

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/05/18/po...g-town-council/ Dear Temasek Review I feel compelled to write in after reading your article,

It is a sad day for democracy if this is true... http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/05/10/ns...ise-at-rallies/ A National Solidarity Party (NSP) supporter by the name of Geraldine Soh Shin Lin was sacked from her job at Jurong Town Council without any valid reasons given. According to Ms Soh

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/05/10/ns...ise-at-rallies/ A National Solidarity Party (NSP) supporter by the name of Geraldine Soh Shin Lin was sacked from her job at Jurong Town Council without any valid reasons given. According to Ms Soh

very sad, the state should be separate from ruling party. we all pay taxes, town council suppose to serve singapoeans!!!!

Title : Two town councils invested S$12m in Lehman-related structured products By : Date : 17 November 2008 1646 hrs (SST) URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../390407/1/.html SINGAPORE: The financial health of two Singapore town councils remains in the black despite their investments in failed Lehman-linked structured products. Holland-Bukit Panjang and Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Councils invested a combined S$12 million using their sinking funds. Going forward, the co-ordinating chairman of PAP town councils, Dr Teo Ho Pin, said future investments will remain diversified but will be on the conservative side. Just like thousands of Singaporean investors who have lost money on failed Lehman-linked structured products, the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council may lose its S$8 million investment. The town council invested 6.7 per cent of its sinking funds available for investment in Lehman Brothers' Minibond Notes, DBS High Notes 5 and Merrill Lynch's Jubilee Series 3 Notes. It had invested another S$3 million in Pinnacle Notes Series 6, but this investment was unaffected. For Pasir Ris-Punggol, its S$4 million investments in the Minibond Series 2 and 3 amounted to 2.6 per cent of its funds. Based on the 14 PAP town councils' latest financial statements submitted to the National Development Ministry, these investments amounted to 0.6 per cent of their total funds of S$2 billion. Like many others, the town councils are anxiously waiting to see if the Lehman Minibond notes will be making dividend payments next month. Dr Teo Ho Pin, chairman, Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council, said: "If there is a credit event that occurs next month for the Lehman Brothers' Minibond, then that will be a default and... there'll be a loss on that investment." Town councils can invest up to 35 per cent of their sinking funds in financial instruments like equities, corporate bonds and funds. Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council said while its investment income will be reduced as a result of the failed investment, its financial status remains in the black and improvement works will not be affected. During a six-year period starting from 2002, the return on its investments totalled about S$24 million. As of March 31 this year, it also has a total kitty of S$118 million. Over the last six years, the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council made a healthy investment return of more than four per cent every year. This is well above the average fixed deposit return of 0.9 per cent. With the investment income, the town council has been able to deal with the impact of inflation. Dr Teo continued: "Our assurance to our residents is that the sinking fund is still intact. We have adopted a very prudent approach in terms of investing our funds. "We have to continue to adopt a diversified investment strategy so we are able to achieve healthy returns for our town council funds, cyclical maintenance purposes and we have to balance between investment risk and returns." Six other PAP-run town councils also have exposure to Lehman Brothers through their fund managers' investment portfolio. These investments total some S$4 million and account for less than one per cent of each town council's funds available for investments. The National Development Ministry said it has no plans to amend the investment guidelines it has put in place as town councils are in the best position to decide how to manage the funds. Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu told Parliament on Monday it was not practical nor desirable for the ministry to be overly prescriptive in enforcing the guidelines, which seek to achieve an optimal balance between reasonable returns and financial prudence. Hougang and Potong Pasir Town Councils, the two that are managed by opposition MPs, have earlier said they do not have any investments related to Lehman Brothers products and their sinking funds are not affected by the failed financial instruments. - CNA/vm Copyright

At least 2 town councils to up S&C charges by Leong Wee Keat 05:55 AM Mar 09, 2010 http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC1003...o-up-SC-charges SINGAPORE - With electricity prices and maintenance costs going up, at least two town councils, Aljunied and Jurong, will raise their Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) next month. The hike will impact flats, shops, offices and market and hawker stalls. For Singaporean households in Housing Board flats, the hike per month will range between 50 cents for a one-room flat and $4.50 for a five-room flat. While the other 12 People's Action Party (PAP) and two Opposition town councils have not indicated on their websites that they will raise S&CC, could the announcements by Aljunied and Jurong herald an inevitable trend as costs rise and economic conditions pick up? The 14 PAP town councils had raised S&CC across the board in 2004 - seven years after the last revision. Coming up to the six-year mark now, town councils like Jurong have seen power tariffs shoot up by 38.4 per cent since October 2004. This impacts the town council "greatly", Jurong Town Council said, as utility bills account for 30 per cent of overall operating cost. "Electricity consumption is also forecast to increase with the installation of more lifts, linkways and amenities within the town," it added. On the frequently-asked-questions section of its website, the town council dismissed any suggestion that the S&CC hike was linked to any investments in failed Lehman-linked structured products. In the first place, it did not invest in any of the troubled financial products; and its "investments have been generating returns of 2.57 per cent per annum over the last five years", Jurong Town Council said. Meanwhile, with the growing number of lifts, and lifts making more stops in a block, maintenance costs have also rocketed. In Aljunied, for example, the monthly servicing costs have doubled from $300 to $624 where a lift makes nine more stops. And where there were just 884 lifts to maintain in 2005, there will be 1,109 by this month's end, and a projected 1,270 by 2014. Also expected to rise: The cost of keeping estates clean. "The demands on the cleaning and refuse removal contractors have changed, and so too their service costs," Aljunied Town Council general manager Jeffrey Chua said. "Because they have to meet specific performance targets, they have to pay higher wages for better trained workers." The cleaning contract rate of about $5.98 per equivalent dwelling unit each month has gone up to about $6.25. For households facing problems with S&CC payments, both town councils assured them financial help was available and urged them to approach their Members of Parliament. Residents MediaCorp spoke to want more clarity. "Neighbours complain the estate is still dirty. With the increase, I hope for more transparency on the targets achieved," Aljunied resident Reynold Seah said. Jurong resident JF Yeo said: "Any fee increase so soon after a recession cannot be good news. The town council should at least show us that our money will be put to good use." Meanwhile, Jalan Besar Town Council chairperson Denise Phua and Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council chairman Zainudin Nordin both said they had no plans for now to increase conservancy charges. Ms Phua noted that estates varied in terms of age and programmes, which could account for differences in upkeep costs.

Lim Hwee Hua just fired at Worker's Party regarding sinking funds in Hougang Town Council Now, let's go back in 2008 and see what they did in Aljunied. With S$84 million in sinking funds, they increase S&CC. They had S$44 million invested with fund managers, could it be that they loss $$$ in investments which is why they increase S&CC? Lim Hwee Hua, why not you open your accounts and show us how much was loss then? Did they increase S&CC because Aljunied was a slum for being the dirtiest precinct? Aljunied Town Council

funny leh... my electorial sector under nee soon GRC.. which is PAP vs WP.. but the road outside my house got SDP put poster? i thought SDP supposed to be contesting at sembawang GRC instead? ..

Good Evening Bros and Sis I am Cerano's son. Today my dad was involved in a very bad accident with a Lorry which ran a light and drifted and rammed into him while he was on his way to work on a motorbike. This accident occured at roughly 9am off Jurong Town Hall Road at the T Junction beside the Science Centre. I am appealing to all motorists who were in the area and were live witnesses to step up. My dad is now having an operation with multiple lacerations and trauma to his legs as well as 5 fractured ribs. The Lorry literally flattened the motorbike. Please pass the word and help me out here. Thank you

Me and my wifey are on leave today and planning to roam arnd in the city area today. Therefore we have decided to deposit our car in the car park near town area and go on to our shopping spree in town area by communting in public transport. Anyone knows of any place to park the car arnd the town area during weekdays which are cheap and near to MRT station? Thanks