"We have said again and again that the PAP (ruling People's Action Party) has not got the political will to bring about a fairer distribution of income," said J.B. Jeyaretnam, secretary general of the WP and long-time foe of the PAP.

"All we hear from the PAP is empty words, that the low income earners have to improve themselves. It is adding insult to injury," he said.

Adopting a hands-off policy on the income gap would have grave social consequences, he warned.

Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was quoted in local weekend reports as saying the widening income gap was due to the globalization of the island-state economy, and was beyond the government's control.

The government could however improve the situation by "making sure that they (the lower income group) continue to have income growth," Lee said.

Last month, government statistics showed that during the 1998-99 recession, wages for low-skilled workers fell up to 34 percent from S$746 (US$431) in 1998 to $492 in 1999.

In the same period, the average household income for the top 10 percent rose from S$15,053 to S$15,541 dollars.

Chief government statistician Paul Cheung said the trend now would be for all wages to increase but the inequality gap would widen as the global economy put the high-end income group on international wages.

Singapore regards $1000 a month for a family of four as the poverty line.