No work given, no salaries paid
Workers pay $9,000 each for job in S'pore, but employer still charges them for food and lodging. MOM steps in...
Sun, Aug 10, 2008
The New Paper
By Tan May Ping
THEY borrowed from their families, sold their land or turned to money lenders just to work in Singapore.
Each of the 120 or so men paid about $9,000 to an agent in Bangladesh to get a job here.
They said they were promised ready jobs as shipyard workers in Singapore, but they claimed they were not given work to do or paid their salaries after they arrived.
Some have been here since January. The latest batch arrived in April.
Worse, they have allegedly been made to owe money for food, lodging and loans given by their employer. Each worker owes more than $200 per month.
Since January, the workers have been arriving in batches on two-year work permits to work for Singapore-owned company Entrade Marine & Industrial.
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MOM spokesman says: We have interviewed the employer to verify the information. Our investigation revealed that the workers were owed an average of two to three months of their salaries. The employer has since confirmed that it will be making salary payment to the workers within two weeks. MOM has also warned the employer for failing to pay its workers promptly. MOM conducted an inspection at the dormitory and found that foreign workers there were being housed in overcrowded conditions. The case has been referred to the National Environment Agency and the Singapore Civil Defence Force for possible breaches of public health and fire safety regulations. Employers are reminded that they are required under the Work Permit Conditions to provide acceptable accommodation and pay their workers on time. Errant employers will be prosecuted and barred from hiring foreign workers. Workers who are not paid their salary in full and on time are advised to seek assistance from the MOM. They can visit the Ministry at 18 Havelock Road or call 6438 5122. |
A check with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority showed that the company is involved in mixed construction activities and ship repairing/shipbuilding work.
A group of the men approached The New Paper as they were at their wits' end.
'Please help us. We can't go on anymore,' one of them said through an interpreter.
'We are falling sick one by one. When we ask to see a doctor, they take us to the office and give us these pills,' he added, taking out a blister pack of paracetamol from his pocket.
POOR MEALS
They have been living on daily meals of rice, vegetables and dhal which, they said, often taste like they have gone bad.
'When we eat the food, we feel sick,' the man said.
The men, in their 20s and 30s, said part of the $9,000 they each paid was for a training course in Dhaka, where they learnt to do welding work for two to three months. They were meant to do shipyard welding work in Singapore and their work permits indicate that they are marine trades workers.
The men, who were supposed to work every day, claimed they were promised basic salaries of $22 a day and overtime pay.
They also claimed that those who had questioned their bosses here about the lack of work were forcibly sent back to Bangladesh.
At least 10 men were made to leave this way.
'Those who opened their mouths were sent back,' one of the men, who has been here since January, said.
'After that, we became scared and didn't dare to speak up.'
Another man said: 'We don't know who to ask for help and we cannot tell anyone our problems because we can't speak English.'
The men claimed that some of them had to do ad hoc work such as cleaning and painting at construction sites for a few days at a stretch.
They alleged that they were not always paid for those jobs.
All of them were put up in a four-storey dormitory in Tuas South Avenue 6, which was converted from a factory. They said the place was cramped and dirty.
BILLED BY EMPLOYER
On top of that, they were given bills detailing how much they owed for food, lodging and loans.
'Our supervisor said we have to pay back when we get our salaries,' one man said, showing a few of his bills.
He claimed that two weeks ago, their employer tried to get them to sign payment vouchers acknowledging payment of salaries even though they had not been paid.
'A few men signed because boss said he would send us back if we didn't,' he added.
Later that week, they were allegedly told to sign contract forms, stating their salary as $13.60 a day and with a new job scope involving general work such as cleaning, loading and painting.
Clearly frustrated, he said: 'Some of us refused to sign anything because we didn't trust them anymore.
'We want to earn money, but if we can't, we want our $9,000 back and then go home.'
After those incidents, more than 30 of them ran away from the dormitory early last week.
The men who ran away told The New Paper that they were afraid that they would be sent home and were staying with friends.
Some of them have also lodged reports with the Manpower Ministry (MOM) on the advice of their friends.
When The New Paper called the company's office last week, an employee said she could not comment and would get her director to return the call.
But the director did not do so by last night.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Aug 8, 2008.