MOM Ready to Step In and Act

2.   Firstly, MOM will require the employer to comply with the minimum terms prescribed in the Employment Act, even if the worker has signed the contract.  Last year, MOM directed 294 companies to rectify their employment terms to be in line with the Employment Act.  Errant employers may be issued with warnings and in some cases barred from hiring foreign workers for a specific period of time. They may also be prosecuted, and face a fine of up to $5,000 per charge and/or jail of up to 6 months if convicted.  29 employers were convicted for violations in 2009.

3.   However, for other contractual terms that do not involve those specified in the Employment Act, such as penalties for disciplinary offences, workers should seek advice and assistance from the Ministry if they feel that such terms are unfair. MOM will investigate whether such clauses are reasonable. 

4.   Workers seeking to recover agency fees paid to agents outside Singapore, or to be relieved of loans they have taken, need to seek the enforcement of such rights in their home countries, since that is where they have paid their agency fees and incurred the debt. On our part, Singapore has already made it an offence for employers or employment agents to receive kickbacks. Such kickbacks may indirectly inflate the agency fees the workers pay.  There are also cases where workers seek to recover loans or other payments made from their salaries when they had previously consented to such arrangements.   For such cases, the Ministry would mediate where appropriate, with a view to helping both parties to resolve the matter.

5.   Cases reported to MOM may involve some or all of these categories of disputes.  MOM offers mediation services to help the parties resolve their differences as quickly and amicably as possible, within reason and to be fair to parties involved.  As it is a mediated settlement, both the employer and the workers concerned are free to decide whether the proposed terms of settlement are acceptable to them. If any party does not accept the proposed settlement terms, the workers may refer their claims to the Labour Court for adjudication.

6.   Workers with employment claims and employment issues can approach the Ministry for advice and assistance. They can call the MOM hotline at 6438 5122 or email mom_lrwd@mom.gov.sg.

Yet, I have seen many foreign workers enter "mediations" at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and be told: "But you signed the contract". There is no recognition of the coercion involved when workers are asked to sign contracts at the airport, after they have paid extortionate amounts of money to recruitment agents.

Also, a "negotiation" strategy is often favoured during mediations, when what is required is an enforcement of existing legislation. It should not be left to employers to decide whether and when they will not comply with the Employment Act.

What is the point of workers making appointments to see MOM officers only to have to "negotiate" or plead for mere compliance with the law? The quoted employer attempts to legitimise such unlawful contracts by insinuating such workers must be 'managed' and that employers have spent lots of money training them.

These workers also spend a lot of money on agency fees. They have to foot the costs of living expenses during their required training period in China. Upon arrival, they are made to work seven days a week, 12 hours or more a day, chalking up more than 350 hours a month - with no overtime or holiday pay or designated rest days.

"Managing" large numbers of employees may be challenging and the pressure to complete projects real. But do we allow unethical and illegal business practices to persist regardless?

Labour laws exist for a reason - to protect workers from abusive employer practices and ensure certain labour standards are maintained.

This is also in the interest of harmonious labour relations, which Singapore prides itself on.

If Singapore is genuine about becoming a "choice destination for migrant workers", I urge MOM to take a strong stand against employers and agents who show scant regard for the basic dignity of workers as well as local labour laws.

Publicly meting out the stipulated fines and jail sentences should act as preliminary deterrents. Raising punitive measures, hopefully, will take place in future.