Stagnant wages

A Singaporean who migrated to Australia 40 years ago told me this story. In 1987, he saw an advertisement in a shop in Toa Payoh for an assistant, that offered a salary of $1,200 a month. He proudly told his friends in Australia that Singapore was making good progress and the salaries would soon catch up with Australia. But, the situation did not improve as expected.
Instead of going up, salaries had remained stagnant (and had actually declined) over the past 25 years. If Singapore had made progress, the salary for a shop assistant should be  $3,000 today - allowing for the change in cost of living. Instead of improving, the wages had stagnated. Many Singaporeans are being squeezed by the rising cost of living and stagnant wages.
Tan Kin Lian