Extra money will come in handy

This retail assistant is delighted.

She can expect to get a pay rise of $140 from next month.

Madam Boon Lye Chan, 54, who works at the FairPrice Finest supermarket in Thomson Plaza, is among the 4,000 FairPrice staff who will see a pay rise soon.

Last month, the Government accepted a proposal to raise the pay of low-wage workers.

It was recommended that workers earning a basic monthly salary of up to $1,000 get at least a $50 built-in wage increase.

On May 24, FairPrice announced that its non-executive staff drawing a basic salary of up to $1,000 will get a pay rise of about $140.

Madam Boon's basic monthly salary just falls in that range.

She told The New Paper that she will use the extra money for her children's education.

The mother of three is saving up so her 24-year-old daughter can pursue a communications course at the Singapore Institute of Management later this year.

Her son, 22, will study aerospace engineering at the Nanyang Technological University later in the year.

She said: "As parents, we want our children to study as much as they can and have better lives. "The money will definitely come in handy."

She has another daughter, who is 21 and works in the food and beverage industry.

Her husband, 60, is a driver and the family lives in a four-room flat in Ang Mo Kio.

They have no car and most of their income goes to food, utilities and transport.

Said Madam Boon: "We lead a simple life, but it's still okay. With the increase, I hope life will get even better."

For cleaners Koh Kun Hur and Peh Ah Lay, the money will pay for everyday expenses like food and electricity.

Mr Koh, 76, who earns $750 a month, said $50 can pay for his meals for five days.

"If I pay $2 for breakfast, and $4 each for lunch and dinner, the money can go a long way.

Budget carefully

"It really depends on how I spend it. The trick is to budget and not spend it all at one shot," he said.

Mr Peh, 53, who makes about $500 a month, said $50 can pay for half of his utilities every month.

He lives with his mother in a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio.

He said: "The price of electricity is already very high. With the weather being so hot these days, we're sometimes forced to use air-conditioning, which is really expensive.

"At least the pay increase can help a little."

But a security guard who only wanted to be known as Mr Arzat K feels the increase is not enough.

Said the 38-year-old, who earns about $1,000 a month: "I can spend $50 in just one hour, topping up the handphone credits for me and my wife.

"What about the bills? The price of food and electricity has been increasing so much recently, a $50 pay increase is really not very much."

But he acknowledged: "More money is still better than no money."

This article was first published in The New Paper.