Foreign workers should come forward with their claims without delay

• Sunday Times (13 August 2017): Cannot work here, cannot go home

Foreign workers should come forward with their claims without delay

1. We refer to the Sunday Times article (13 Aug 2017), “Cannot work here, cannot go home”.
2. What the workers have had to go through is painful. SJH Trading is being investigated for multiple offences including failure to pay salaries and house their workers in proper accommodation. SJH Trading will be prosecuted accordingly to our law.
3. We would like to repeat our call for workers to come forward to MOM as early as possible to protect themselves. This is also the best way for workers to prevent their employer from causing further harm to other workers. As an illustration, MOM would have taken action against the employer had the workers come forward immediately with their allegation that the employer had asked them to sign on blank salary vouchers, or had threatened them with cancellation of work permit. 
4. During the time when claims are being looked into, the law requires the employer to continue to pay for their upkeep and maintenance. Should the employer fail to do so, MOM, through the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC), will step in to provide for their welfare, and punish the employer. The workers would also have been offered the chance to find other employers and avoided the plight of having to work further without pay.
5. Six of the workers came forward to MOM in July for salary arrears of about three months. Their claims were not disputed by the employer, and MOM will see to it that their salaries are paid in full this week. The remaining 19 workers came forward only between July and August, after salary arrears had accumulated for as long as 12 months. Due to the long delay in filing the claims, these claims were disputed by the employer, and investigations are ongoing.
6. The article’s headline also suggested that the workers were disallowed from continuing to work in Singapore or prevented from going home. This is untrue.  Once MOM had established the validity of their claims, the workers were allowed to remain in Singapore till the claims were resolved or return home.  As they chose to remain in Singapore, MOM referred them to MWC to assist with their job search.
7. We partner with MWC to ensure that their welfare is taken care of. Workers with salary or well-being issues should lodge their complaints with MOM at 6438 5122 or www.mom.gov.sg/eservices, and do so without delay.