MOM's Statement for PRC Workers on Top of Crane at 31 Jurong Port Road Incident

6 December 2012

1. On 6 Dec 2012, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) received a call from the Police, alerting us of an incident involving 2 Chinese construction workers. Mr Zhu Guilei and Mr Wu Xiaolin were at the top of the crane at a construction site at 31 Jurong Port Road, citing unhappiness with their employer, Zhong Jiang (Singapore) International Pte Ltd. MOM’s labour relations officers went down to the site.
2. Preliminary findings show that the two workers had approached MOM previously. Zhu Guilei had first come to MOM in July 2011 to enquire how he and his friend could resign and return home. Zhu was then working for a different company. On 5 Dec 2012, Zhu approached MOM’s customer relations officers at the MOM Services Centre together with Wu Xiaolin, as they had tendered their resignations and planned to return home. They claimed they had outstanding salaries owed to them, however, the workers did not have the necessary documents to support these claims. MOM officers asked them to return with the documents so that MOM could investigate – the workers had agreed to do so.
3. MOM will not hesitate to take action against employers who fail to pay their workers on time. The Ministry takes a serious view of employers who do not comply with our employment laws. Companies who contravene the Employment Act and/or the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act may also be barred from hiring foreign workers in future.
4. Workers should not take matters into their own hands and break the law. Workers facing employment issues should approach MOM for advice and assistance. They can call the MOM hotline at 6438 5122 or email mom_lrwd@mom.gov.sg.