Myaraw explaining her long working hours to a TWC2 volunteer

9-9-6 refers to a notorious work schedule of 9am to 9pm, six days a week — a schedule widely considered “modern slavery” by disgruntled tech workers in China. For Myaraw (name changed), a Burmese worker in a Singapore coffee shop, 9-9-6 might seem like a preferable alternative to her current working arrangement — what one might call a 10-10-2.

When Myaraw first arrived in Singapore three months ago, she found that her workday would be from 10.30am to 10.30pm. The “2” refers to two Sundays off per month (this would be approximately only half the number of Sundays off compared to a tech worker working six days a week, or having four Sundays off). Another key difference is in allocated break times: Myaraw gets only 10 minutes for lunch (the average 9-9-6 tech worker would likely get an hour).

To be clear, when an employer makes an employee work such hours, the law is plainly violated. The Employment Act stipulates that no worker should be made to do more than 72 hours of overtime a month. Myaraw’s four extra hours every day (not taking into account her working on rest days) would easily have added up to 90 or 100 hours of overtime a month.

The payslip that Myaraw finally got: the details there bear no relation to the stated salary components of the In-principle Approval, nor to the substituted contract, nor to reality.

Unlike 9-9-6 tech workers who generally know what they are getting themselves into, Myaraw did not expect such arduous work in Singapore. During her interview in Myanmar, her agent informed her she would be working as a waiter in a restaurant. Not only did the “restaurant” turn out to be a seven-stall food court, and in addition to taking orders and clearing tables, Myaraw was tasked to do just about every other thing required in a food and beverage establishment: washing dishes, making drinks and cleaning the toilet.

The deception Myaraw feels she has fallen prey to does not end there. She laments that her payslip is a gross underestimation of her deserved compensation: for her gruelling 12-hour work days, she gets no overtime pay at all, only her basic salary and a housing allowance. Her manager forbids her from taking pictures or holding a copy of her timesheet or payslip (she receives cash). Myaraw has been denied the basic right to a document concerning her compensation that every worker should have full access to. The Ministry of Manpower has a rule that says every employee should receive a detailed itemised payslip.

Besides outright violations of the rules, there is a suffocating air of intimidation in the employment relationship. For example, her manager hovers over her as she signs her timesheets.

According to her government-issued In-principle Approval for a Work Permit, her monthly basic salary is $1,100; there’s a further $900 housing allowance. Therefore, she would have been promised a fixed minimum salary of $2,000 a month, before extra payments for overtime hours and working on rest days.

However, almost immediately after coming to Singapore, Myaraw was made to sign a separate contract directly with her employer here — one with a salary of $1,200, but a housing allowance of $400. The worst part: her monthly housing costs $500 per month, eating into her basic salary. Even then, she should have received a fixed minimum of $1,600 a month, but as the payslip imaged above shows, even this was not the case.

When Myaraw brought this up with her agent, she was simply told that the new contract superseded any prior arrangements. Conveniently enough for her Myanmar-based agent, Myaraw was already in Singapore and in debt — she has to pay off her flight ticket, agent fees ($5,500) and rent.

Myaraw’s case represents some common grievances that workers who come to TWC2 mention:

  • Firstly, salary payments made in cash too easily allows employers to blindside employees; payments through banking systems would allow more traceable employee compensation.
  • Secondly, workers are often given tasks far beyond their prescribed job description.
  • Thirdly, workers find themselves having to work excessive overtime hours far beyond the maximum allowed by law.
  • Fourthly, workers find themselves shortpaid, particularly for their overtime; some employers deliberately disavow making workers work excessive overtime, to avoid being held liable for breaking the law on maximum hours.
  • Fifthly, and perhaps the most deeply concerning of all, is the notion that official Singapore government documents can be treated like trash, easily superseded by a new contract that migrant workers are bullied into signing immediately after arrival. Such a practice is known as contract substitution, which the International Labour Organisation considers an indicator of forced labour.

Behind affordable heartland food is a system of exploitation with troubling red flags that have simply been overlooked; exploitation that produces experiences like Myaraw’s and that could beat the 9-9-6 standard for modern slavery.

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