41.   A Hartz supervisor alleged management wanted to reduce labour costs and avoid paying out benefits.

42.   According to Thomas, the fact that one programme has been altered iswhat drives the labour cost of adjusting software.

43.   Are you looking at material costs, labour costs, or costs of what the company is buying in --what are the major drivers of costs?

44.   BUSINESS groups say the relaxation of labour importation would bring down labour costs, especially for the construction industry, and further reduce steep property prices.

45.   China also has a huge population with huge purchasing power and labour costs are still cheap.

46.   He said Boon Rawd would aggressively expand in Laos because of its lower labour costs.

47.   He said the US-designed boats being produced in the Shenzhen factory were top quality and lower labour costs meant very competitive prices.

48.   However, he added that while there are benefits from pegging Asean currencies to the Singapore dollar, labour cost differences in the countries could pose some problems.

49.   In addition, Malaysian companies could take advantage of the lower labour costs and large pool of skilled manpower to set up operations in Pakistan.

50.   The current adjustment in labour costs and property prices as triggered by the regional turmoil would help restore much of its attraction, he said.