The following article was published in The Straits Times on 26 August 2008.
Unpaid wages: MOM takes bosses to court
By KIMBERLY SPYKERMAN
The Straits Times, p.B2
26/08/2008
THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has taken two cleaning companies and their directors to court for failing to pay salaries to their employees.
Ang Ser Hock, 54, managing director of Home and Industrial Maintenance Services, pleaded guilty to withholding $31,268 in salaries due to his 53 employees between October 2006 and February last year.
He was sentenced to four months' jail as he was unable to pay the fine.
In another incident, Andrew Sivanesan Balakrishan, 36, managing director of IMM & IMM Cleaning Services, did not pay 14 workers the salaries owed to them after their employment ended.
The company and Balakrishnan were fined $1,500 each. The workers have since been paid in full.
Since last year, the MOM has taken to task nine cleaning firms which violated the Employment Act by not paying workers.
Mr Quek Jen Juan, senior assistant director of the Labour Relations & Workplaces Division at the MOM, said the ministry is making efforts to ensure that the lowest-paid workers are not being taken advantage of.
This will be done through educating employers and workers on their responsibilities and rights as well as going after errant bosses.
It is not just a problem faced by the sanitation sector. The construction industry also has its share of bad employers.
Thirty China-born workers from local construction company Capital Builders have lodged complaints with the MOM against their employer for two months' wages owed to them.
According to news reports, employees signed a contract agreeing to let Capital Builders keep two months of their salary to pay off the mandatory $5,000 security bond lodged with the Government.
But a July 14 ruling this year prohibits employers from recovering such employment-related expenses, including the security bond, from their workers.
A man who said he was their employer told Lianhe Zaobao that the contracts were signed prior to July 14 and the new regulation should not apply to their case.
Under the Employment Act, workers' salaries must be paid in full within seven days of the end of the salary period.
The Act also does not allow employers to withhold more than a month's salary except for income tax purposes.
Offenders are liable to be fined a maximum of $1,000 and sentenced to a jail term of six months.
When contacted, an MOM spokesman said that the case is still being investigated.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Nine more cases of chikungunya, new cluster emerges
The following article was published in The Straits Times on 17 August 2008.
Nine more cases of chikungunya, new cluster emerges
By GRACIA CHIANG, AW CHENG WEI
The Straits Times
17/08/2008
Latest cluster at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre; two workers and a kin test positive
Nine more local cases and a new cluster for chikungunya fever has surfaced.
The latest cluster is at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, where a 32-year-old female worker tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease last Tuesday.
Her 61-year-old father later tested positive. He is still in hospital while she has recovered.
Last Thursday, a further blood screening of 184 workers at the centre detected a third person, a 44-year-old worker who came down with the disease there.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) immediately sent some 20 officers and 10 pest control operators to the centre, where four breeding sites were found.
These were destroyed, followed by fogging in the area.
Of the 10 staffing stalls at the centre whom The Sunday Times spoke to, none was aware that chikungunya had hit the place. They did, however, notice that there was an increased effort to clean the area.
One cashier at a supplier there, Madam Serene Lee, 41, said she was "scared" but business would still go on. "I have no backup plans but I'll have to be more careful, and take note if any of my workers or colleagues are not feeling well."
Two additional cases have also been reported at Kranji Way, Singapore's largest chikungunya cluster to date.
The latest victims – a 52-year-old Singaporean and a 41-year-old Chinese national – bring the total affected there to 32. Both work there.
Up to 70 NEA officers and 20 pest-control operators have gone into action there and enforcement measures have been taken against the 52 factory premises found with mosquito breeding.
The NEA has since extended its operations to include other parts of the Kranji and Sungei Kadut areas.
Giving an update on the Sungei Kadut cluster, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said there has been a third chikungunya case there. She is a 61-year-old clerk who works in Sungei Kadut Street 1.
Across the island, three more chikungunya cases – all local males – have also been reported: in Segar Road, Jalan Berjaya and Queen Street. Two are aged 48 and the third is 65 years old.
The nine new cases bring the total number of local cases to 63 and the affected areas in Singapore to 15.
This year alone, there have been 117 cases of chikungunya fever, of which 54 were imported cases with a history of travel.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, referring to cases in the region, said: "I don't think it's the mosquitoes crossing borders but patients do cross borders." There was a huge volume of people coming and going.
"Workers come here to work and Singaporeans go there to visit, and this is the durian season, so many go for durian trips as well."
He added that the Kranji cluster had significant numbers of foreign workers who crossed the borders every day.
In Johor, chikungunya was a bit of a problem, so new cases were appearing practically every day.
He advised Singaporeans to take preventive measures and see a doctor as soon as symptoms emerged so that cases can be isolated.
He added: "What you hope for is that it will not become like dengue. Once it becomes like dengue, when it becomes endemic in Singapore, it will be very hard to get rid of it until scientists come up with a vaccine.
"So we are doing our very best to make sure that chikungunya does not decide to stay here permanently."
Additional reporting by Aw Cheng Wei
Nine more cases of chikungunya, new cluster emerges
By GRACIA CHIANG, AW CHENG WEI
The Straits Times
17/08/2008
Latest cluster at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre; two workers and a kin test positive
Nine more local cases and a new cluster for chikungunya fever has surfaced.
The latest cluster is at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, where a 32-year-old female worker tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease last Tuesday.
Her 61-year-old father later tested positive. He is still in hospital while she has recovered.
Last Thursday, a further blood screening of 184 workers at the centre detected a third person, a 44-year-old worker who came down with the disease there.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) immediately sent some 20 officers and 10 pest control operators to the centre, where four breeding sites were found.
These were destroyed, followed by fogging in the area.
Of the 10 staffing stalls at the centre whom The Sunday Times spoke to, none was aware that chikungunya had hit the place. They did, however, notice that there was an increased effort to clean the area.
One cashier at a supplier there, Madam Serene Lee, 41, said she was "scared" but business would still go on. "I have no backup plans but I'll have to be more careful, and take note if any of my workers or colleagues are not feeling well."
Two additional cases have also been reported at Kranji Way, Singapore's largest chikungunya cluster to date.
The latest victims – a 52-year-old Singaporean and a 41-year-old Chinese national – bring the total affected there to 32. Both work there.
Up to 70 NEA officers and 20 pest-control operators have gone into action there and enforcement measures have been taken against the 52 factory premises found with mosquito breeding.
The NEA has since extended its operations to include other parts of the Kranji and Sungei Kadut areas.
Giving an update on the Sungei Kadut cluster, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said there has been a third chikungunya case there. She is a 61-year-old clerk who works in Sungei Kadut Street 1.
Across the island, three more chikungunya cases – all local males – have also been reported: in Segar Road, Jalan Berjaya and Queen Street. Two are aged 48 and the third is 65 years old.
The nine new cases bring the total number of local cases to 63 and the affected areas in Singapore to 15.
This year alone, there have been 117 cases of chikungunya fever, of which 54 were imported cases with a history of travel.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, referring to cases in the region, said: "I don't think it's the mosquitoes crossing borders but patients do cross borders." There was a huge volume of people coming and going.
"Workers come here to work and Singaporeans go there to visit, and this is the durian season, so many go for durian trips as well."
He added that the Kranji cluster had significant numbers of foreign workers who crossed the borders every day.
In Johor, chikungunya was a bit of a problem, so new cases were appearing practically every day.
He advised Singaporeans to take preventive measures and see a doctor as soon as symptoms emerged so that cases can be isolated.
He added: "What you hope for is that it will not become like dengue. Once it becomes like dengue, when it becomes endemic in Singapore, it will be very hard to get rid of it until scientists come up with a vaccine.
"So we are doing our very best to make sure that chikungunya does not decide to stay here permanently."
Additional reporting by Aw Cheng Wei
Saturday, August 9, 2008
More cases of chikungunya fever
The following article was published in The New Paper on 9 August 2008.
More cases of chikungunya fever
The New Paper
09/08/2008
THERE are eight more cases of chikungunya fever involving six foreign workers and two locals working at Kranji Way.
Five of the foreign workers work and reside in Kranji Way, the Health Ministry said, while the last foreign worker commutes daily from Malaysia.
This brings the total number of cases linked to Kranji Way to 28.
There are also two new cases not related to the Kranji Way cluster.
The first involved a 27-year-old housewife at Woodlands Street 81. The other was a 40-year-old Chinese national who works and resides at Sungei Kadut Street 1.
More cases of chikungunya fever
The New Paper
09/08/2008
THERE are eight more cases of chikungunya fever involving six foreign workers and two locals working at Kranji Way.
Five of the foreign workers work and reside in Kranji Way, the Health Ministry said, while the last foreign worker commutes daily from Malaysia.
This brings the total number of cases linked to Kranji Way to 28.
There are also two new cases not related to the Kranji Way cluster.
The first involved a 27-year-old housewife at Woodlands Street 81. The other was a 40-year-old Chinese national who works and resides at Sungei Kadut Street 1.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
'Eighth worker in 2 months dies in Singapore shipyard accident'
The following article was published by Trend News Agency on 5 Aug 2008.
Eighth worker in 2 months dies in Singapore shipyard accident
05 August 2008
Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)
An Indian national was apparently electrocuted while cleaning a boat in the latest death to hit Singapore's beleaguered shipyard industry, news reports said on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old man was part of a team washing a ship's hull with a high-powered jet at DryDocks World Singapore when he fainted while shifting a powerful spotlight, The Straits Times reported.
The death Friday night was the eighth in the industry since June 8 and the third serious accident at DryDocks World in six weeks, the reported.
Investigations are ongoing. The Ministry of Manpower said the death was likely due to electric shock.
DryDocks World Singapore is part of a Dubai-based conglomerate.
The ministry has ordered DryDocks to stop using electrical equipment until it has been inspected and certified safe.
S Krishnakumar, DryDocks commercial director, said safety briefings now take place daily in the native languages of the workers - Hindi, Bangladeshi and Thai.
"We're not paying lip service to safety," he was quoted as saying. "We don't take it lightly."
(c) 2008 Trend News Agency. Copyright for the present information is reserved, in case of reprint of any part of it reference should be done to the Agency.
Eighth worker in 2 months dies in Singapore shipyard accident
05 August 2008
Trend News Agency (Azerbaijan)
An Indian national was apparently electrocuted while cleaning a boat in the latest death to hit Singapore's beleaguered shipyard industry, news reports said on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old man was part of a team washing a ship's hull with a high-powered jet at DryDocks World Singapore when he fainted while shifting a powerful spotlight, The Straits Times reported.
The death Friday night was the eighth in the industry since June 8 and the third serious accident at DryDocks World in six weeks, the reported.
Investigations are ongoing. The Ministry of Manpower said the death was likely due to electric shock.
DryDocks World Singapore is part of a Dubai-based conglomerate.
The ministry has ordered DryDocks to stop using electrical equipment until it has been inspected and certified safe.
S Krishnakumar, DryDocks commercial director, said safety briefings now take place daily in the native languages of the workers - Hindi, Bangladeshi and Thai.
"We're not paying lip service to safety," he was quoted as saying. "We don't take it lightly."
(c) 2008 Trend News Agency. Copyright for the present information is reserved, in case of reprint of any part of it reference should be done to the Agency.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Serangoon Gardens residents against plan to build dorm
The following article was published in The New Paper on 3 Aug 2008.
Serangoon Gardens residents against plan to build dorm
The New Paper
RESIDENTS of Serangoon Gardens are upset over news that a workers' dormitory may be built at Burghley Drive where Serangoon Garden Technical School used to be.
Their concerns include noise pollution, traffic congestion and the safety of residents – many of whom are retirees. Over 600 people have signed a petition against the construction.
The government announced in February that it would release 11 new dormitory sites to house over 65,000 foreign workers, scheduled to be completed by 2010.
But the National Development Ministry said temporary facilities at potential sites like Serangoon Gardens, have to be built in the meantime
Serangoon Gardens residents against plan to build dorm
The New Paper
RESIDENTS of Serangoon Gardens are upset over news that a workers' dormitory may be built at Burghley Drive where Serangoon Garden Technical School used to be.
Their concerns include noise pollution, traffic congestion and the safety of residents – many of whom are retirees. Over 600 people have signed a petition against the construction.
The government announced in February that it would release 11 new dormitory sites to house over 65,000 foreign workers, scheduled to be completed by 2010.
But the National Development Ministry said temporary facilities at potential sites like Serangoon Gardens, have to be built in the meantime
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