Can Report to the Authorities if Employers are Receiving Kickbacks
- Lianhe Zaobao, 17 September 2009
Please refer to the letter, “Please stop exploiting foreign workers of their hard-earned money” (12 September 2009).
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) takes a serious view of employers who receive kickbacks in exchange for securing employment, as well as employment agents who facilitate the practice. This is illegal.
A new Work Permit condition was imposed in July 2008 to make it an offence for employers to receive kickbacks. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employers who breach Work Permit conditions can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months. They will also be barred from employing foreign workers in the future.
A new licensing condition was also imposed on employment agencies to make it an offence to offer, directly or indirectly, any form of payment to employers in exchange for hiring foreign workers through them. Employment agencies that breach the Employment Agency Licence Condition may have their licences revoked and security deposit of $20,000 forfeited.
Following the new regulations, three employers and an employment agent were prosecuted in July 2009 for kickback offences. One of the employers was convicted and given the maximum fine of $5,000 on 15 September 2009. The successful conviction is a strong reminder to employers of the seriousness of the offence. MOM is also investigating several other cases and will adopt a zero-tolerance approach to such offences. Besides conviction, MOM will also bar the employer from hiring foreign workers.
Anyone with specific information on kickback offences should contact MOM at (65)6438 5122 or email at mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg. The information they share with MOM will be kept strictly confidential.
Please stop exploiting foreign workers of their hard-earned money
- Lianhe Zaobao, 12 September 2009
Quite a number of companies and agencies in Singapore outsource their cleaning jobs to contractors who usually hire many foreign workers.
A Chinese foreign worker performing cleaning work in my company recently fulfilled his two-year employment contract. He had planned to go home for a month before returning to work for his employer again. He thought that by doing so, he would save on agency fees of between RMB40,000 and 50,000. However, the employer asked for a sum of $3,000 from him and even wanted him to bear the cost of the air ticket back to Singapore. The employer hinted that if he were to hire a new foreign worker, this would be the amount of rebate offered by the employment agency.
The foreign worker felt that the sum was unreasonable. One of his fellow villagers working in a restaurant recently completed his two-year contract but returned to work for his employer again. Not only did the employer not ask for any kickbacks, he even gave his friend a raise.
Last year, a reader wrote to ZB's forum page to highlight examples of employers accepting kickbacks. Such malpractices still continue today. It appears that this proves to be a difficult issue for the authorities.
In writing this letter, I hope employers would have a conscience and stop exploiting foreign workers of their hard-earned money!