The lack of workers union for the construction industry in Singapore
I am in Architecture. I love my job, and I am about to get married to an Engineer.
However, whenever I tell people I am I’m Architecture, they stare with envy and say, “wow, heard you guys work a lot of late nights, you must be on a really good wage!”
I look away with shame and carry on with my daily life.
I have never met anyone who works in the architectural industry tell me they hate their job. Most of them are passionate, and are willing to burn the mid night oil to deliver the best designs for their clients.
But this isn’t reflected on their wage, nor design fees.
As competition increases, developers make companies go against each other not by competing in terms of design, quality or reliability, but by the company with the cheaper fee. As a results, fees get lower, and our wage…. gets lower. But the developers expectation of work to be done increases. And all thanks to the yes man culture in Singapore, nothing can be done.
Now I speak for all areas in construction; M&E, Structural, Architecture, Urban Planners,etc. How is it that it fair for developers to expect a 5 person job and only willing to pay for the price of one?
Engineering and Architecture aren’t cheap courses. They require deep strategic thinking and time, and like lawyers and doctors, we study for a period of 5-11 years before becoming eligible to sit for an exam to become a Qualified Person. Sure, we probably won’t be responsible for saving you billions of dollars for your company, but we can put together and build an environment that could improve the lives of any city or town for generations, when given the resources. Just look at cities that invests in these talents vs cities that don’t, and I rest my case.
How is it that developers are allowed to bully consultants into doing late nights and not pay them the equivalent ?
The worst part? They sell their development at an extortion of a price. (Shakes head) So when headlines come up that they have to pay millions of dollars because they have too many unsold units, (laughs) serve them right.
Soon the number of people who wants to be in this industry will decline and we will fall into the hands of foreign workers who are more willing to work the late nights ; but only for a number of years till they return to their homeland. People who do not know Singapore, to built for Singapore.
I have worked in the UK(I hear it’s the same in australia) where architects and engineers are respected although they don’t do half the work we do. Why?
Is our creativity not worth the investment? I feel like I am shielded by the company I work for as they pay a decent wage because they’re an MNC who has the fame to afford to do so, but the stories I hear from local companies are nightmare. There are only so many years that a human being can survive being slave to developers. Ocassionally my fiance comes home at 2am and tells me, “I love the experience I’m getting but I don’t think I can do this for long,”
My fiance is british. He works for a local firm, is fantastic at his job and is getting all the opportunities his career requires, culturally open and fell in love with Singapore when he got here, until we realize the amount of respect the industry lacks. I love my country and I only wish I can stay here my whole life. But if this carries on..? Let’s just say we’re starting to look at houses in Britain just in case he breaks down.
