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Written Answer by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on Employers who paid CPF contributions for local phantom workers

Employment practices
Notice Paper No. 159 Of 2015 For The Sitting On Or After 14 July 2015
Question No. 626 For Written Answer

MP: Mr K Karthikeyan

To ask the Minister for Manpower from 2011 to 2014, what is the number of employers found to have paid CPF contributions for local phantom workers so as to inflate their foreign worker quota?

Answer 

  1. It is against the law for employers to inflate their foreign worker quota and employ more foreign workers than they are rightfully allowed to. From 2011 to 2014, MOM took enforcement action against 90 such employers. They inflated their foreign worker quota by making CPF contributions to locals who were not working for their companies to hire additional foreign workers. 
  2. MOM takes a serious view on employers who falsely inflate their foreign worker quota. Errant employers face a financial penalty of up to $20,000 for every work pass application made using the inflated quota. They may also be debarred from hiring foreign workers for a period of 12 months or more, depending on the severity of the case.