Channel NewsAsia ran a story about the plight of Burmese workers in Singapore. We ask our Executive Director to flesh out some of the points he had made in CNA's programme.
Responding to Parliamentary questions, MOM provides quite a few numbers relating the the abuse of the Training Employment Pass.
Another day, another scam. This time, it involves the Training Employment Pass. This case suggests lax controls and oversight at MOM. But when real individuals lose big money, something has to be done.
In quick succession, many cases that looked like a new type of job scam surfaced. Agents and employers appear to be exploiting weaknesses in scrutiny and vetting in MOM's IPA process. Victims come to TWC2 one after another.
A well-educated guy got a job as a Construction Site Supervisor. The first day on the job, he was astonished what he was asked to do. An anatomy of a scam.
Two men had to look for new jobs. One was in Bangladesh and the other was in Singapore. Different outcomes.
Since job scams arise from misrepresentation of the nature and terms of the job, a solution must lie in eliminating opportunities for deception. Workers must have direct access to employers' submissions and MOM's electronic records.
Hebal came from Bangladesh with a document saying his basic salary would be $600 per month, but despite working lots of overtime, his total monthly salary was only $650. How could that be?
Mohatab showed TWC2 two IPA documents he had in hand. Both named him as the worker and had the same dates. But the employers were different as were the salary details. Another scam!
A hotel advertised itself in India to jobseekers. Someone sent us the name of the hotel. We tried to book a room.
