Singaporean calls for ‘Sinkies who served NS to at least get paid the median wage for the 2 years they miss out on in the job market’
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#Singaporean #calls #Sinkies #served #paid #median #wage #years #job #market,
SINGAPORE: Singaporeans are taught from a young age to serve the nation, but as the cost of living scales Mount Faber levels of madness, one Singaporean has reignited a long-simmering debate: Should full-time National Servicemen (NS) be fairly compensated for the two years they’re pulled out of the job market?
Taking to the Reddit r/SingaporeRaw forum, he threw a punchy opinion into the digital void after reading a Yahoo! News report titled “Expats praise safety in Singapore, complain about high costs, visas.” He said, “I feel Sinkies who served NS should at least get paid the median wage for those 2 years they lose out in the job market.”
Now I feel sinkies who served NS should at least get paid the median wage for that 2 years they lose out in the job market
byu/deekay_123 inSingaporeRaw
✊ “They should be compensated the equivalent of their 2 years’ salary at retirement…”
The Singaporean’s point was that even expats — some earning handsome salaries — are starting to complain about Singapore’s sky-high costs. So what more for young Singaporean males who lose two crucial years of work experience, career advancement, and income?
“2 years can actually gain quite a lot of work experience and get pay bumps significantly for some people,” he added, and Redditors didn’t just agree, they went full-on policy advisor mode.
“They should be compensated the equivalent of their 2 years’ salary at retirement,” said one, noting that since the retirement age is the same for both genders, but only males lose two productive years to NS, it’s only fair to compensate them at the finish line.
Some proposed more immediate solutions. Like this one: “The easy way is to top up their CPF OA account. S$20K per year of service on top of regular allowance.”
Or this: “Just give the regular’s rank CPF contribution, both employer and employee, paid by the government without touching the NSF pay.”
Others agreed that compensation should be pegged to GDP per capita, not a random token sum, with one forum member declaring: “S$20K is not enough for the lost opportunity cost.”
💸 “We’re basically the last first-world country with mandatory conscription that pays recruits a slave wage…”
But what really got netizens going was the actual allowance NSs receive.
“We’re basically the last first-world country with mandatory conscription that pays recruits a slave wage,” one wrote. Another added: “If the average salary now is S$4K+, NS men should be paid at least S$50K/pa. Imagine losing out on S$100K salary because of NS…”
Some even argued that the long-term career lag caused by NS cannot be solved by a simple payout:
“You have to consider that it is not just 2 years of salary but also 2 years of experience. What use is the salary compensation if the 2-year lag increases the chance of not getting the job?”
That one hits like an SOC (Standard Obstacle Course) run in full battle order.
🏠 BTO bonuses, gender fairness, and reservist respect
Others floated ideas like giving NS men BTO (Build-to-Order flat) priority or tacking on an S$30K additional subsidy:
“Considering how many citizen-PR couples get their BTO with zero NS reservist responsibilities, it’s a loophole that needs to be closed.”
Some even called out the gender imbalance:
“If you cannot protect your soldiers in retirement-proof, then what are you protecting, ler? … If you cannot, then all female citizen Singaporeans must be conscripted for NS and reservists, as well.”
🇸🇬 “‘Expats praise safety in Singapore,’ [so] who sacrificed their 2 years of life to keep this country safe [for them]?”
One Redditor sarcastically summed up the irony of the Yahoo! News headline:
“‘Expats praise safety in Singapore,’ [so] who sacrificed their 2 years of life to keep this country safe [for them]? Lol!”
Whether it’s topping up CPF, tying compensation to national income, or offering housing perks — the message from Reddit Singaporeans is clear: Singaporean men aren’t asking for applause, but maybe just fair pay for lost time.
Because in the nation-building equation, sacrifice without support feels a little too much like silent suffering.