Type of issue: salary & deduction
Introduction In March 2016, Minister of State for Manpower Sam Tan told Parliament that the government was not prepared to make bank payment of foreign worker salaries mandatory. He gave a few reasons which the section 'Discussion' below will address. TWC2 felt it would be worthwhile to do a simple survey to check what male work
Kamal gingerly opened a window, hoping it wouldn't make a noise. Heart pounding, he stepped out, trying not to look down. He was twelve floors up Block 601 Jurong West. With certain death should he miss a step, he made his way to the ground, never before so careful in his life. Hailing a taxi,
Prabhu was unhappy about his boss' tactics that reduced his earnings, and came to us in March 2016 seeking advice. For over a year, the construction company that employed him didn't have enough work to keep all its employees occupied. Management (sort of) rostered the workers, such that in each month, there would be several
By Ranjana Raghunathan At TWC2's Cuff Road Project, a group of five workers, three Indian and two Bangladeshi, catch my attention. They seem to know each other, and have come to enroll themselves in the free meal program together. Upon questioning a little, I learn that they, along with four other workers, faced issues
Extracted from the Hansard (Parliamentary reports), for the record: Parliamentary sitting of 29 February 2016: Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many complaints of unauthorised salary deductions have been registered every year from 2010 to 2015; and (b) in how many of these cases are the complaints found to have
By Zhan Nanxin When Alex touches Sardar Md Shamin’s shoulder, he flinches. The accident is several months ago, but should his injury be permanent, he will be unable to take up any heavy-duty job again, in Singapore or in any other country. He will be unable to support both his sisters back home in Bangladesh who
By Zhan Nanxin In his third month on the job, it was ‘Tomorrow…. Tomorrow’. Then it became ‘Next week’ and gradually escalated to ‘Next month’. It's November now, and Islam Razibul has not received his pay since June 2015. He waited patiently for three months, but eventually lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)
For the record, we place here the relevant part of the Parliamentary minutes from the sitting of Monday, 11 May 2015. Sanctions against employers who withhold wages for foreign employees Mr Hri Kumar Nair asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider stronger sanctions against employers who fail to pay, or wrongfully withhold,
By Jiang Haolie It is unthinkable to survive in Singapore earning just $227 a month, or $1.19 for every hour of backbreaking work. Bidut (not his real name), a reclamation worker is doing just that. For comparison, an indoor job at McDonalds would pay five to six dollars an hour; it would earn you Bidut's daily
Qatar's new regulations requiring employers to pay migrant workers via bank accounts will take effect in November 2015. This puts the country ahead of Singapore, where our Ministry of Manpower is not addressing a widespread weakness. Here, employers can choose to pay employees in cash, and it is fairly common for employees to report that whilst
