Interesting updates related to migrant worker issues
The recent amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) will take effect on 9 November 2012, reported the Straits Times and Channel NewsAsia. Both reports highlighted the introduction of administrative penalties. A financial penalty will be imposed on administrative infringements. These are EFMA breaches that do not directly harm workers and are not
A report in the Business Times, 24 April 2012, highlighted the gradual drying up of Singapore's usual sources of foreign blue-collar workers. The story, headlined "S'pore magnet losing its foreign worker pull" by Cai Haoxiang is archived in Asia One. The traditional source of unskilled labour, Malaysia, dried up years ago. But in recent years
After a 12.5 percent increase in the number of S Pass holders from December 2011 to June 2012 [see earlier story], the government is looking at doing more to control the inflow. The Straits Times reported Acting Manpower minister Tan Chuan-jin saying that "We should have an update on this perhaps in the first quarter
Ng Kheng Teck, 43, a father of two, was sentenced to three years' jail and nine strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to two of four charges of molesting a domestic worker from Indonesia who was working in his household in January 2011. Ng had also abused his position of trust, said the judge
The Straits Times reported on 4 October 2012 that an employment agency has been fined $5,000 for overcharging two foreign workers. The news report did not name the agency. The workers involved were a man and a woman -- countries of origin not stated -- who worked in the manufacturing sector. The agency was also
A 24-year-old domestic worker is being investigated by the police for giving false information, reported the Straits Times Breaking news, 8 October 2012. The brief report, short on details, mentioned that she had lied to her employer that there had been a man trespassing into the property. Following that, the employer, believing the tale to
Parliament passed amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) on 11 September 2012. There is no indication from press reports of any further changes to the bill first read at the beginning of August. See TWC2's Our Stand Statement on the amendments. As reported by the Straits Times, Errant employers who try to
The Ministry of Manpower says only one percent of work injury claimants find themselves facing employers who did not have work injury insurance. Straits Times, Thurs, 30 Aug 2012. It also concedes that the vast majority of cases in which employers did not have work injury insurance were not prosecuted. No escape from the law
Cook Al-Azhar Mohamed Yusoff, 20, and bartender Sayed Muhammad Nassier Sayed Mohd Sidek, 21, were sentenced to seven and eight-and-a-half years' jail respectively for robbing and severely assaulting two foreign workers. Nassier had a longer jail term because of drug-taking. Both were also given 24 strokes of the cane. The two robbers kicked and punched
The New Paper reported, on 4 August 2012, that a total of $68 million was awarded in compensation for permanent incapacity and death in 2011. It did not provide any split between froeign and local workers, nor did it say how much claimants actually received. Very often, in TWC2's experience, workers received less than the
