A work permit holder (right) consults with TWC2’s case officer (left) over his salary underpayment
Salary issues are one of the top two issues migrant workers come to TWC2 for help with. One of the most common factors in short payments by employers lies in the way overtime pay is recorded and calculated. Very often, our case officers see sloppy records and calculation methods in documents maintained by employers that are at variance with law. With respect to the latter (unlawful calculation methods) TWC2 decided to do a survey to assess how widespread the problem of non-compliance with rules regarding overtime pay was.
We obtained 992 valid responses for analysis. The bulk of these responses were Tamil and Bangladeshi workers, and most of them were in construction, marine and process sectors (CMP sectors).
As anticipated, we found that underpayment for overtime work was widespread. About 54% of survey participants indicated through their answers that they were underpaid for their overtime. One factor for underpayment was in the way some employers were ignoring the law that prescribes a 44-hour week, with any hour beyond that eligible for overtime pay. Over 45% of respondents indicated that their employers did not pay overtime salary for work done on Saturdays that was in excess of 44 hours.
Another factor was the non-compliance with the minimum overtime rate. The Employment Act prescribes a minimum rate for overtime pay to be 1.5 times the basic rate. Over 17% of respondents reported not receiving the minimum overtime pay rate.
Interestingly, about 88% of respondents who were underpaid were not aware that they were being underpaid. This suggests that the law’s protections are not widely known among them and that employers may therefore be taking advantage of this gap in workers’ knowledge.
Our survey report in pdf (eight pages) can be downloaded by clicking on the icon at right.