Thanks aplover for your helpful comments - I'm indeed still new and trying to establish myself within the firm and with external people, thankfully with some success. I'm also on the lookout for a good boss/company who values me and whom i can contribute to wholeheartedly - but that's so rare to find isn't it?

My Singaporean seniors are staying because the firm does provide learning opportunities which are hard to replicate outside, although they continue to be underpaid vs expats despite their contributions.

On the bright side, I think the management is starting to see the value of hiring Singaporeans (partly spurred by recent change in govt policy, partly because we are higher on the value/cost curve vs expat grads and can stay in the region for the long term) but its a painfully slow transition process. Each batch of my seniors have communicated in various ways that the company should pay us fairly (4 years ago trainees are paid less than 2k, without a pay raise for confirmation), and our lot has improved over the years, by proving with consistent results that we're worth it.

I hope that this post will encourage my fellow Singaporeans in the commodities industry to press on in adding value wherever you are, to support our fellow brothers and sisters and to collectively communicate for a fair package based on what we bring to the table.