The following article was published in the Straits Times on 28 Feb 2009.
Does restricting foreign talent help Singaporeans?
By Aaron Low
28 February 2009
Straits Times
The Manpower Ministry recently announced it will raise the qualifying criteria for S-Pass applicants. This is a reversal of a trend that liberalised the employment pass for semi-skilled foreign workers. Insight looks at what this move might mean for local workers.
WHEN Mr Mansoor Ali was retrenched from his engineering job late last year, he was both shocked and angry.
Shocked because the 38-year-old felt he was doing little wrong in the semiconductor company that he had been with for more than 21/2 years.
Shock quickly turned into anger when he learnt that 20 foreigners working in the same department were not being retrenched.
'I am the sole breadwinner in my family with a school-going child. Did it matter to my employer? No, the general manager said it was a business decision,' said Mr Mansoor, who is married with two children.
'My situation didn't matter to them. I felt as if locals were not protected.'
His bitter reaction mirrors the sentiment that some Singaporeans have towards foreigners. They feel that foreigners here take their jobs away.
It is a sentiment that the current downturn - in which jobs are becoming ever more scarce - will do little to alleviate.
MPs too have started to ask whether it is time to rethink the open door policy that Singapore adopted towards foreigners during the boom years.
In particular, they single out foreigners on the S-Pass - a category of foreign workers who compete for jobs most directly with local professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).
Addressing such concerns during the recent Budget debate, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that the qualifying criteria for the S-Pass would be raised.
He did stress, however, that it would hurt the economy as a whole if Singapore were to chase foreigners out.
What does such a move signal? Will it be effective in creating more opportunities for local PMETs? Or will it add to the burden of struggling companies?
Tweaking the S-Pass
THE S-Pass is an employment pass for semi-skilled workers with diploma-level or post-secondary-level education and who earn at least $1,800 a month.
It was introduced in 2004 by the Government as a means of helping businesses get access to foreign manpower on the back of a booming economy.
Companies complained that they were struggling to find the manpower to meet their business needs.
To ease their woes, the S-Pass was created to allow semi-skilled professionals, such as assistant engineers, skilled technicians and accountants who were in high demand, into the economy.
Initially, the quota for S-Pass holders in each company was capped at just 5per cent of a company's staff strength. It was raised gradually over the years to the current cap of 25per cent.
As a result, the overall number of S-Pass holders has jumped.
In 2006, there were just 25,000 S-Pass holders here. This trebled to 74,000 last year.
These figures mirror the rise in the total population of the foreign workforce here.
In 1998, there were 640,000 foreign workers in Singapore.
Last year, the figure rose to slightly more than a million - or almost 35per cent of the 2.86million-strong workforce here, Manpower Ministry (MOM) figures show.
S-Pass holders are now dispersed throughout the economy. They build ships in shipyards, man telephones at call centres, work as retail assistants, and in restaurants as managers and chefs.
The Government reassured Singaporeans that the S-Pass was not going to crowd Singaporeans out since companies could tap on the S-Pass to fill urgent manpower needs.
Government leaders point out that without access to such foreign labour - S-Pass holders included - companies can face problems meeting orders.
But while this may have been true in the good times, the liberal policy of the S-Pass should be relooked now, as the downturn takes its toll on workers' jobs, said Dr Lim Wee Kiak, an MP for Sembawang GRC.
'Now that the economy has contracted, should we also think about whether allowing so many S-Pass holders creates too much competition here for our local PMETs?'
Dr Lim was pleased when he heard that MOM would be raising the qualifying criteria for S-Pass holders.
He believes it is a good move and will stem the wave of S-Pass holders coming here.
'This strikes a good balance between ensuring that jobs continue to exist for locals and allowing in semi-skilled foreigners.'
Furthermore, he said this will complete the package of help that the Government has laid out for PMETs.
There are already training and skills upgrading opportunities - such as the newly launched Professional Skills Programme, and the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) - that PMETs can tap.
But these training efforts may come to nought if there are no jobs for trained personnel to take up, said Dr Lim.
Using the analogy of fishermen and fish, he said: 'It's best to train one how to fish. But if there are few fishes and too many fishermen, there will be too few fish for everyone - even for skilled fishermen.'
His views are echoed by Mr David Leong, managing director of human resource firm PeopleWorldwide.
He thinks the ministry's move will help funnel the flow of foreign manpower to those jobs where there is a lack of skills among the local workforce.
For example, those in the service industry 'will likely be hardest hit as these jobs are easily filled by Singaporeans, with training if need be', he said.
'The learning curve for such skills as sales, marketing and retail merchandising is not as steep as that in technical areas like safety supervisors, construction foremen or commissioning superintendents, where specific technical qualifications are needed.'
Stricter may not be better
BUT not all observers are entirely satisfied with changes to the S-pass system.
For one thing, the quota does not look like it will be changed any time soon, said National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.
She was hoping for a review of the quota - together with a raising of the criteria - as this would help create more job opportunities for Singaporeans.
'There are also now concerns about whether our diploma holders and graduates will be able to get jobs when they graduate this year,' she said.
'The $1,800 salary for an S-pass degree holder is much lower than what most companies have to pay fresh graduates, at least before the start of the recession.'
Mrs Josephine Teo, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, describes the move to change the qualifying criteria as one that does not 'tighten the tap but merely replaces the filter for the tap'.
She points out that the monthly S-Pass levy, at $50, is much lower than the monthly levy for work permit holders, which ranges from $150 to $450.
Errant employers may also appear to be paying $1,800 for S-Pass holders, but they may also charge them for housing and make them do overtime without paying them extra, she says.
'This has the unintended consequence of creating an unlevel playing field for Singaporeans. Does MOM allow this? If yes, why? If not, another level of tightening is really enforcement - to make sure the rules are strictly followed.'
Mrs Teo also said that raising the qualifying criteria could help lessen the problem of unskilled foreigners being passed off as 'skilled' workers.
Of course, not all employers try to beat the system.
Many employers are indeed worried about how any tweaking of the S-Pass criteria will affect their businesses.
For instance, while closing the tap may theoretically mean more job opportunities, if local workers themselves are not lining up for these jobs, businesses may be the ones to suffer.
Retail is one sector which Singaporeans are not flocking to in search of jobs.
Metro's human resource and operations director Edward Tan said there is still a lack of interest in working in retail.
'The usual obstacles are there: working at the weekend, working till midnight during sales periods, 10 to 12 hours of standing on your feet,' said Mr Tan, who has about 20 S-Pass workers on his payroll. 'I would gladly employ locals - if only more would come forward.'
Another key concern for businesses is cost, especially in a recession.
Mr David Ang, executive director of the Singapore Human Resources Institute, pointed out that the local worker inherently costs more than the foreigner because of wage expectations and the need to make Central Provident Fund contributions.
'For instance, a fresh poly grad may fit into a typical S-Pass job and earn $1,800, as diploma holders earn that much. But he may not have the skills or experience of the S-Pass worker,' he said.
And in a severe downturn such as this, it may not make sense to the Government to increase costs for businesses by making them turn to more expensive local workers, Mr Ang added.
Hence, he believes there is reluctance to make major changes to the S-Pass, or any other foreign worker employment pass system.
These issues were reflected by the ministry in an e-mailed reply to questions from Insight.
A ministry spokesman reiterated the Government's stand that the availability of foreign talent is a key competitive advantage that helps to anchor strategic investments and bolster Singapore's growth industries.
Without foreigners, a company may close down or decide to move out of Singapore, the spokesman added.
At the same time, Singapore needs workers for jobs that Singaporeans might not have the required skills for, or which they are unwilling to do.
'Foreign manpower helps keep our businesses globally competitive,' the spokesman said.
Foreigners in our midst
THE debate over the S-Pass is occurring amid a broader discussion now about the place of foreigners in Singapore and their role and contributions to the economy.
The Government has vigorously defended their presence and said that foreign workers serve as a buffer against retrenchments.
According to Manpower Ministry figures, this seems to be the case.
In 2002 - as a result of the 2001 recession - 42,300 foreigners lost their jobs while 19,400 jobs were created for locals.
In 2003, the situation was similar: 27,900 foreigners lost their jobs, while 14,900 locals gained employment instead.
The big question is whether they will continue to be a buffer in this current recession.
There are no clear indications of this as yet, as the fourth quarter labour market figures do not give a breakdown of the 7,000 who were retrenched in the last three months of last year.
But National University of Singapore economics professor Tilak Abeysinghe said that even if there is a buffer this time round, it is likely to be the foreign worker who is in a lower-skilled job.
'There may be a substitution effect - companies hiring locals for foreigners - at the bottom in this recession. But at the higher end, the effect of foreign labour is more complementary,' he said.
At a dialogue with the labour movement and employers recently, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned against the notion that Singapore should push foreign workers out at the first instance.
Their numbers will fall because companies will fold in the downturn, he said. But it would do Singapore and Singaporean workers more harm to insist they should go first.
Still, the fact is that many Singaporeans are becoming increasingly worried about their jobs.
By addressing the issue of the S-Pass, the Government is showing that it is sensitive to the needs of Singaporeans, said Mr Ang.
'The move is a political one - balancing between the needs of the residents and the country's drive to get foreign talent,' he said.
Dr Lim agreed: 'I think the Government doesn't want to send the wrong signal that we will kick foreigners out at the first instance of trouble.'
Ultimately, there is no easy solution to the plight of the PMETs.
Tweaking the S-Pass policy and introducing the Jobs Credit wage subsidy scheme will help locals become more competitive, say observers.
But is just one part of the equation.
Many PMETs will have to go through training and adopt new expectations and attitudes in this recession, said Mrs Teo.
Mr Mansoor is one such person.
He decided to re-evaluate his life when he was laid off from his job.
While still bitter about his retrenchment experience, he nonetheless focused his energies on the future.
Using $20,000 from his savings, he set up a drinks and teh tarik stall in Bedok.
But he aims, within the next five to 10 years, to set up and run a group of companies that deal with importing and exporting food and medical equipment.
'There is no shame in being a hawker. I consider my stall to be my 'personal ATM' which will bring me cash on which to build my future,' he said.
'Who knows?...Two years from now, I could be earning more than the general manager who fired me.'
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Jobless migrant workers protest in Singapore again
The following article was posted by Reuters on 27 Feb 09.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A group of around 100 Bangladeshi migrant workers gathered outside Singapore's labour ministry on Friday, urging the government to give them work and retrieve overdue pay after they were laid off by shipping firms.
Protests are rare in Singapore, where public speeches and demonstrations are banned unless they are approved by the government, or take place at a designated place called Speaker's Corner.
A representative for the Bangladeshi workers said they were promised a monthly salary of at least S$400 and a work permit of 2 years. But with no work or pay for 4 months, they felt they were in danger of being deported.
"We don't want to go back to Bangladesh. We take loan, we cannot pay, we die," said Rahman, who gave up his farming job in Bangladesh and took a loan of S$7000 from money lenders back home to pay an agent fee to work in Singapore.
Fifty workers gathered at the ministry earlier this month.
Local advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too said such gatherings would become more common in Singapore as workers were not being fed enough and were just sitting in dormitories, amid Singapore's worst ever recession.
"The mood is that we are seeing a lot of people coming forward -- hundreds -- they don't have work," said the group's Shelley Thio. "We are going to see a lot more of it -- they are being shortchanged."
Singapore's shipyard, construction and manufacturing industries were once red hot, hiring almost 800,000 migrants in 2007. But as the economy slid into recession last year, demand for labour dived and major projects were cancelled or delayed.
"If developers can't get money to pay construction companies, subcontractors down the line will get affected too," said Chew Chin Hui, who heads a local building firm.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A group of around 100 Bangladeshi migrant workers gathered outside Singapore's labour ministry on Friday, urging the government to give them work and retrieve overdue pay after they were laid off by shipping firms.
Protests are rare in Singapore, where public speeches and demonstrations are banned unless they are approved by the government, or take place at a designated place called Speaker's Corner.
A representative for the Bangladeshi workers said they were promised a monthly salary of at least S$400 and a work permit of 2 years. But with no work or pay for 4 months, they felt they were in danger of being deported.
"We don't want to go back to Bangladesh. We take loan, we cannot pay, we die," said Rahman, who gave up his farming job in Bangladesh and took a loan of S$7000 from money lenders back home to pay an agent fee to work in Singapore.
Fifty workers gathered at the ministry earlier this month.
Local advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too said such gatherings would become more common in Singapore as workers were not being fed enough and were just sitting in dormitories, amid Singapore's worst ever recession.
"The mood is that we are seeing a lot of people coming forward -- hundreds -- they don't have work," said the group's Shelley Thio. "We are going to see a lot more of it -- they are being shortchanged."
Singapore's shipyard, construction and manufacturing industries were once red hot, hiring almost 800,000 migrants in 2007. But as the economy slid into recession last year, demand for labour dived and major projects were cancelled or delayed.
"If developers can't get money to pay construction companies, subcontractors down the line will get affected too," said Chew Chin Hui, who heads a local building firm.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
Friday, February 27, 2009
Ex-air force man guilty of maid abuse
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 27 Feb 2009.
Ex-air force man guilty of maid abuse
By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent
27 February 2009
Straits Times
AN INDONESIAN maid told a court that while working with a family in Jurong West, she was getting about three hours of sleep a day after pulling 21-hour days.
Added to this, Ms Nana Widayanti was getting barely enough food - usually two meals a day and sometimes only one.
It came to a head at 1.30am on Feb 25, 2007 when, after going an entire day without food, she helped herself to milk powder - and was caught.
When her employer, Tong Chew Wei, a 31-year-old former air force staff sergeant, confronted her, she denied taking the milk powder. She kept her mouth closed even as he tried to pry it open. He then assaulted her, punching her in the face, grabbing her hair and elbowing her back.
She ran away from the family after that.
The month before, she was scalded and beaten with a broomstick. On another occasion, she had her feet stomped on.
Yesterday, Tong was found guilty of seven charges of maid abuse.
Ms Widayanti returned to Indonesia after giving her evidence in court. The trial took seven days.
The court heard that she started work with the family in September 2006. The abuse began three months later and culminated in the assault that February day the following year.
Her typical day would start with Tong taking her and his toddler daughter to his mother's flat nearby.
By the time of the milk powder incident, the couple had had their second child.
The case has been adjourned to March 5, when the court will hear Tong's mitigation plea and the prosecution's address on sentence.
Tong faces a fine of up to $1,500 or a jail term of up to 18 months on each charge.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Ex-air force man guilty of maid abuse
By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent
27 February 2009
Straits Times
AN INDONESIAN maid told a court that while working with a family in Jurong West, she was getting about three hours of sleep a day after pulling 21-hour days.
Added to this, Ms Nana Widayanti was getting barely enough food - usually two meals a day and sometimes only one.
It came to a head at 1.30am on Feb 25, 2007 when, after going an entire day without food, she helped herself to milk powder - and was caught.
When her employer, Tong Chew Wei, a 31-year-old former air force staff sergeant, confronted her, she denied taking the milk powder. She kept her mouth closed even as he tried to pry it open. He then assaulted her, punching her in the face, grabbing her hair and elbowing her back.
She ran away from the family after that.
The month before, she was scalded and beaten with a broomstick. On another occasion, she had her feet stomped on.
Yesterday, Tong was found guilty of seven charges of maid abuse.
Ms Widayanti returned to Indonesia after giving her evidence in court. The trial took seven days.
The court heard that she started work with the family in September 2006. The abuse began three months later and culminated in the assault that February day the following year.
Her typical day would start with Tong taking her and his toddler daughter to his mother's flat nearby.
By the time of the milk powder incident, the couple had had their second child.
The case has been adjourned to March 5, when the court will hear Tong's mitigation plea and the prosecution's address on sentence.
Tong faces a fine of up to $1,500 or a jail term of up to 18 months on each charge.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Monday, February 23, 2009
Not all S'poreans treat foreign workers badly
The following article was published in The New Paper on 23 Feb 2009.
Not all S'poreans treat foreign workers badly
By Genevieve Jiang
23 February 2009
The New Paper
SINGAPOREANS have been getting some bad press for their treatment of foreign workers.
Maid-beaters and unscrupulous bosses have made the headlines quite often.
One of the latest cases is that of a pub owner, who, earlier this week, was accused of verbally abusing, and then beating and threatening to burn his Filipino employee when she refused to cower before him.
Last November, a week after zoo worker Nordin Montong was killed at the white tiger enclosure, a whistle-blower came forward with a video showing a foreign worker from Sun City Maintenance - the company Mr Nordin worked for - being verbally abused and beaten up by his supervisor.
That same month, a cleaning firm was fined $20,000 for housing five foreign workers in a disused rubbish bin centre for at least six months.
Considering that Singapore was built by immigrants from various countries, it is ironic we cannot seem to treat today's foreign workers with respect and dignity.
But for every horror story that makes the news, could there be a dozen other inspiring ones that don't?
Community workers familiar with foreign worker issues here say the bad apples are a minority.
Mr John Gee, president of foreign worker advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), said Singaporeans are increasingly 'more aware, more critical, and less tolerant' of foreign workers being abused.
The mindset that foreign workers are 'not to be treated on par with other people', may still be there.
But of the 266 calls for help received by TWC2 last year, only seven involved physical abuse and 20 verbal abuse - down from 28 and 35 respectively the year before.
At the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), the majority of calls for help were also not abuse-related, but due to the recession, resulting in loss of jobs and housing.
I am surrounded by friends and neighbours who have maids, and more often than not, the stories I hear are heartwarming, not heartrending. I know of at least three families who make it a point to celebrate their maids' birthdays every year with good meals and gifts.
Another couple often allows their maid extra rest by telling her not to cook. They bring food home for her.
Maid had cancer
There are cases of employers who go the extra distance, such as Mr Jonathan Khoo, who cared for his Filipino maid when she was diagnosed with cancer last year.
The project manager, 33, took time off work to take her to hospital every week, spent close to $4,000 on medical bills, and tried to raise more funds for her.
The authorities' stand on errant employers here is clear. Employers who fail to pay workers can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to six months, or both.
Those who fail to upkeep and maintain their foreign labour can be fined up to $5,000 per worker.
But the Manpower Ministry needs to get tougher with stiffer penalties for those who exploit workers - like barring them from hiring foreign labour.
There may be only a few rotten apples. But considering the role of foreigners in Singapore's ambitions to be an international education, sports and business hub, even a handful may be enough to spoil the barrel.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Not all S'poreans treat foreign workers badly
By Genevieve Jiang
23 February 2009
The New Paper
SINGAPOREANS have been getting some bad press for their treatment of foreign workers.
Maid-beaters and unscrupulous bosses have made the headlines quite often.
One of the latest cases is that of a pub owner, who, earlier this week, was accused of verbally abusing, and then beating and threatening to burn his Filipino employee when she refused to cower before him.
Last November, a week after zoo worker Nordin Montong was killed at the white tiger enclosure, a whistle-blower came forward with a video showing a foreign worker from Sun City Maintenance - the company Mr Nordin worked for - being verbally abused and beaten up by his supervisor.
That same month, a cleaning firm was fined $20,000 for housing five foreign workers in a disused rubbish bin centre for at least six months.
Considering that Singapore was built by immigrants from various countries, it is ironic we cannot seem to treat today's foreign workers with respect and dignity.
But for every horror story that makes the news, could there be a dozen other inspiring ones that don't?
Community workers familiar with foreign worker issues here say the bad apples are a minority.
Mr John Gee, president of foreign worker advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), said Singaporeans are increasingly 'more aware, more critical, and less tolerant' of foreign workers being abused.
The mindset that foreign workers are 'not to be treated on par with other people', may still be there.
But of the 266 calls for help received by TWC2 last year, only seven involved physical abuse and 20 verbal abuse - down from 28 and 35 respectively the year before.
At the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), the majority of calls for help were also not abuse-related, but due to the recession, resulting in loss of jobs and housing.
I am surrounded by friends and neighbours who have maids, and more often than not, the stories I hear are heartwarming, not heartrending. I know of at least three families who make it a point to celebrate their maids' birthdays every year with good meals and gifts.
Another couple often allows their maid extra rest by telling her not to cook. They bring food home for her.
Maid had cancer
There are cases of employers who go the extra distance, such as Mr Jonathan Khoo, who cared for his Filipino maid when she was diagnosed with cancer last year.
The project manager, 33, took time off work to take her to hospital every week, spent close to $4,000 on medical bills, and tried to raise more funds for her.
The authorities' stand on errant employers here is clear. Employers who fail to pay workers can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to six months, or both.
Those who fail to upkeep and maintain their foreign labour can be fined up to $5,000 per worker.
But the Manpower Ministry needs to get tougher with stiffer penalties for those who exploit workers - like barring them from hiring foreign labour.
There may be only a few rotten apples. But considering the role of foreigners in Singapore's ambitions to be an international education, sports and business hub, even a handful may be enough to spoil the barrel.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
‘No’ to sending foreigners back
The following article was published in TODAY on 23 Feb 09.
‘No’ to sending foreigners back
By Esther Ng
TODAY
23 February 2009
SENDING back foreign workers now will backfire on Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned. In some countries, he said, there are emotional protests by workers and unions against foreign workers and immigrants. In the United Kingdom, for instance, Polish workers are resented by the local labour force.
“But taking away one foreign worker does not mean one more job for a Singaporean worker. Without foreign workers, the company may close down, or decide to shift the entire business out of Singapore,” he told unionists at the Singapore Tripartism Forum held yesterday.
This would harm our reputation and deter MNCs from bringing future investment and jobs to Singapore, he added.
In fact, PM Lee pointed out that foreign workers are crucial to the economy — they take on jobs many Singaporeans do not want to do, like shift work.
“The first shift is all done by Singaporeans, the second shift — we have a mix of Singaporeans and foreign workers, but the night shift is all done by foreign workers,” said PM Lee.
It was, perhaps, the strongest endorsement on foreign workers to have emerged in recent weeks, amid populist clamour that getting rid of foreign workers will help save jobs for Singaporeans.
Instead, the right thing to do is to make Singaporean workers more attractive to businesses, through Spur and the Jobs Credit scheme. But “everyone has to work together to help Singapore pull through”, he added.
Unionists whom Today spoke to agreed.
“For the hotel industry in particular, certain positions like cleaners and chambermaids are difficult to fill,” said Mr Abdul Subhan Hussein, the president of the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union. “All these cleaners and chambermaids are retired or mature workers who started when they were young girls. There is no replacement rate for these Singaporean workers,” he said. “If we don’t have foreign workers, we won’t be able to run a hotel.”
Likewise, Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union president Tan Peng Heng feels that foreign workers act as a “cushion for Singaporeans” by helping businesses stay afloat.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
‘No’ to sending foreigners back
By Esther Ng
TODAY
23 February 2009
SENDING back foreign workers now will backfire on Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned. In some countries, he said, there are emotional protests by workers and unions against foreign workers and immigrants. In the United Kingdom, for instance, Polish workers are resented by the local labour force.
“But taking away one foreign worker does not mean one more job for a Singaporean worker. Without foreign workers, the company may close down, or decide to shift the entire business out of Singapore,” he told unionists at the Singapore Tripartism Forum held yesterday.
This would harm our reputation and deter MNCs from bringing future investment and jobs to Singapore, he added.
In fact, PM Lee pointed out that foreign workers are crucial to the economy — they take on jobs many Singaporeans do not want to do, like shift work.
“The first shift is all done by Singaporeans, the second shift — we have a mix of Singaporeans and foreign workers, but the night shift is all done by foreign workers,” said PM Lee.
It was, perhaps, the strongest endorsement on foreign workers to have emerged in recent weeks, amid populist clamour that getting rid of foreign workers will help save jobs for Singaporeans.
Instead, the right thing to do is to make Singaporean workers more attractive to businesses, through Spur and the Jobs Credit scheme. But “everyone has to work together to help Singapore pull through”, he added.
Unionists whom Today spoke to agreed.
“For the hotel industry in particular, certain positions like cleaners and chambermaids are difficult to fill,” said Mr Abdul Subhan Hussein, the president of the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union. “All these cleaners and chambermaids are retired or mature workers who started when they were young girls. There is no replacement rate for these Singaporean workers,” he said. “If we don’t have foreign workers, we won’t be able to run a hotel.”
Likewise, Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union president Tan Peng Heng feels that foreign workers act as a “cushion for Singaporeans” by helping businesses stay afloat.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
'Singapore's PHANTOM WORKERS'
The following article appeared in the Straits Times on 22 Feb 09.
Singapore's PHANTOM WORKERS
By Shuli Sudderuddin
22 February 2009
Straits Times
Their names are on the payroll and payouts are made to their CPF accounts - but they don't work. Errant employers use this scam to get around a quota system for hiring cheaper foreign labour
Mrs Josephine Teo, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, recently met a retired woman in her 60s at her Meet-the-People session.
'She wasn't working but discovered that money had been deposited in her CPF account,' she said.
The woman was puzzled about this and brought it up to the MP.
'We alerted the Ministry of Manpower and found that someone knew of her identification and employment status and submitted an application to hire her,' said MrsTeo.
Meet the 'phantom' worker.
Under the law, sectors such as service and manufacturing must employ a number of Singaporeans or permanent residents before they can hire foreign workers.
Some employers get around this by employing local workers in name only and contributing to their CPF. Having these phantom workers, who are often retirees, on their payroll allows them to hire more foreign workers.
Phantom workers made the news recently when Mr Ong Ah Heng, Nee Soon Central MP, drew Parliament's attention to their existence.
He was approached by a coffee shop owner who felt that errant coffee shop operators would benefit unfairly from the Jobs Credit scheme announced in Parliament.
Under the $4.5 billion scheme which is meant to stave off retrenchments, employers get a 12 per cent cash grant on the first $2,500 of wages for every Singaporean or permanent resident on their CPF payroll.
'People fear that the scheme is going to be put to waste because money is going to go to people who aren't actually paying local workers,' Mr Ong said to The Sunday Times.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, inflating the foreign-worker entitlement by falsely declaring the number of local workers is punishable with a fine of up to $15,000 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.
Besides the employer, the 'phantom' worker may also face the same penalty for abetting the offence.
Internationally, phantom workers have also been in the spotlight.
Last month, B. Ramalinga Raju, the founder and chairman of Satyam, an Indian information service outsourcing company, confessed to making up more than 10,000 employees to siphon money from the company.
While the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is currently investigating 33 cases of possible use of phantom workers, some say the problem may be more widespread.
Mr Ong said: 'I think the problem is bigger than that because coffee shops seem to have many foreign workers.'
Added a coffee shop manager in Ang Mo Kio who declined to be named: 'This is something many operators learn when they set up a coffee shop. They do it because it's convenient.'
Rampant practice
Industry players said the phenomenon is not new.
Mr Hong Poh Hin, vice-chairman of the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association, knows of restaurant operators who have been caught for this, although he said he has not encountered this in the 400 or so coffee shops in his association.
Explaining how it works, he said employers usually put down the names of local retirees as workers. However, these retirees do not work in the establishment, nor do they get a salary.
In some cases, they might not even know about the scam. Some of them could be unwitting family members of the employers.
As required by law, the employers pay a portion of these phantom workers' salaries into their CPF accounts. They then use their names to fulfil the quota of local workers that is required.
One reason for the scam is cost - it is much cheaper to get foreign workers than local ones.
'Locals are paid about $1,100 to $1,200 while foreigners are paid only $800 to $900,' said Mr Hong.
'Even if employers pay three locals $60 each for CPF, they will still make a small saving and the foreigners will work longer hours,' he said.
Labour agents like Mr William Tan, the licensee for Foreign Recruitment Centre, said unlicensed agents are often responsible for phantom workers.
'Employers need labour so they sometimes advise them to do this,' he said.
Assistant Professor Cheolsung Park at the National University of Singapore's department of economics said that while the practice is not that widespread, phantom workers are used to cut costs.
'They are cheaper and particularly in the recession, employers will want to save.'
Singaporean engineering student Luo Yong Hui, 24, observed the scam at work when he did a stint as a production operator in a factory in Tuas during his school holidays about a year ago.
He was told by foreign workers there that the employers were using locals to give a false headcount.
'The staff comprised about 80 per cent foreigners. The foreign workers earned about $400 a month while the locals earned almost twice this amount,' he said.
'So even after providing CPF to phantom workers, the employers still saved money.'
Employers who play by the rules say errant operators have an unfair advantage over them, particularly now that there is the Jobs Credit scheme.
Mr Lim Leong Tarn, 62, who is in charge of the Yishun Ring Road Eating House coffee shop, said he hires only local workers.
'It isn't fair. The Government may not check when giving out Jobs Credit. As long as the supposed employees fulfil certain criteria, they'll just give out money,' he said.
An MOM spokesman said that companies submitting work permit applications for foreign workers have to declare the number of local employees that are employed by them and that CPF contributions are made to these employees.
'MOM has in place processes to flag unusual company profiles, which may indicate the existence of 'phantom' workers,' he said.
'On-site checks are also made at companies to ascertain if the employees are working for the company.'
He added that the cases identified by MOM and currently under investigation include coffee shops, freight forwarders, construction firms and others.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance added, in reference to the Jobs Credit scheme: 'In any scheme, there is a possibility of abuse.'
It will work closely with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the CPF Board which are administering the scheme to ensure that abuse is minimised, he said.
Quota system
Industry players say the phantom workers phenomenon is also the result of the foreign worker quota scheme as well as the unwillingness of locals to work in certain jobs.
For example, for every local worker employed, the construction sector can hire seven foreign workers; the marine sector, five; and service and landscaping sector, one.
Mr Bob Tan, general manager of A-Star Food Court, said that it can be difficult to hire local workers and government quotas may need to be revised.
'With the current system, employers may have difficulty employing workers. Some may not have enough local headcount and consequently not even be able to hire foreign workers,' he said.
Then again, Singaporeans - especially younger ones - may not want the jobs offered.
A spokesman for Start Point Employment Services said that local workers are picky about jobs and often quit easily.
'When you hire foreign workers, you have more control and their employment is more stable. Employers may have no choice but to turn to foreigners,' she said.
Some suggested reviewing the quotas currently in place and training local workers.
Said Dr Park: 'Quotas create problems because they create artificial barriers and people will find ways around them. What we should focus on is giving local workers a competitive advantage by improving their skills.'
Others advocate strong enforcement of the existing rules.
Said MP Josephine Teo: 'Once there is clear indication that MOM is actively enforcing the rules, awareness will rise and employers will realise the consequences of flouting the law.'
Still, some see a bright side to all this.
Mrs Teo said that the Jobs Credit scheme might end up giving older Singaporean workers an advantage.
She explained: 'Employers need not pay as much CPF for older workers, and with the Jobs Credit scheme, it may be cheaper for employers to just hire locals. Hopefully, this will tilt the balance in their favour.'
No easy task keeping within foreign worker quota
22 February 2009
It strives to maintain the quota but it is no easy task.
The Must Eat coffee shop in Toa Payoh Central has three workers from China and three workers from Malaysia out of its 12 employees there.
This is within the quota for the service industry, where up to 50 per cent of the company's workforce can be foreign workers.
But Ms Chuang Yu Ming, 46, the coffee shop supervisor, said that it can be a challenge to maintain the quota constantly.
Her chief problem? Getting Singaporeans to work at the coffee shop.
While Singaporeans can relate better to customers, they are 'hard to hire because they can be very picky. They don't want to do overtime or wash dishes sometimes, and they have too many demands', she said.
Foreign workers, on the other hand, tend to take fewer days off and are diligent.
Like other coffee shop operators The Sunday Times spoke to, she said she understood why operators may be forced to hire phantom workers, but said that it was unfair to those coffee shop operators who do not break the law.
'The rules are made for a reason and the Government must have put a lot of consideration into them, and it's not fair that other operators benefit from flouting them,' she said.
She tries her best to recruit more Singaporeans by reminding them not to turn down work at a coffee shop so easily.
'I tell them to add value to their skills and tell them that if they are willing to do work, they need not worry about finding a job.'
On local hires
'They don't want to do overtime or wash dishes sometimes, and they have too many demands.'MS CHUANG YU MING, Must Eat coffee shop supervisor
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Singapore's PHANTOM WORKERS
By Shuli Sudderuddin
22 February 2009
Straits Times
Their names are on the payroll and payouts are made to their CPF accounts - but they don't work. Errant employers use this scam to get around a quota system for hiring cheaper foreign labour
Mrs Josephine Teo, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, recently met a retired woman in her 60s at her Meet-the-People session.
'She wasn't working but discovered that money had been deposited in her CPF account,' she said.
The woman was puzzled about this and brought it up to the MP.
'We alerted the Ministry of Manpower and found that someone knew of her identification and employment status and submitted an application to hire her,' said MrsTeo.
Meet the 'phantom' worker.
Under the law, sectors such as service and manufacturing must employ a number of Singaporeans or permanent residents before they can hire foreign workers.
Some employers get around this by employing local workers in name only and contributing to their CPF. Having these phantom workers, who are often retirees, on their payroll allows them to hire more foreign workers.
Phantom workers made the news recently when Mr Ong Ah Heng, Nee Soon Central MP, drew Parliament's attention to their existence.
He was approached by a coffee shop owner who felt that errant coffee shop operators would benefit unfairly from the Jobs Credit scheme announced in Parliament.
Under the $4.5 billion scheme which is meant to stave off retrenchments, employers get a 12 per cent cash grant on the first $2,500 of wages for every Singaporean or permanent resident on their CPF payroll.
'People fear that the scheme is going to be put to waste because money is going to go to people who aren't actually paying local workers,' Mr Ong said to The Sunday Times.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, inflating the foreign-worker entitlement by falsely declaring the number of local workers is punishable with a fine of up to $15,000 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.
Besides the employer, the 'phantom' worker may also face the same penalty for abetting the offence.
Internationally, phantom workers have also been in the spotlight.
Last month, B. Ramalinga Raju, the founder and chairman of Satyam, an Indian information service outsourcing company, confessed to making up more than 10,000 employees to siphon money from the company.
While the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is currently investigating 33 cases of possible use of phantom workers, some say the problem may be more widespread.
Mr Ong said: 'I think the problem is bigger than that because coffee shops seem to have many foreign workers.'
Added a coffee shop manager in Ang Mo Kio who declined to be named: 'This is something many operators learn when they set up a coffee shop. They do it because it's convenient.'
Rampant practice
Industry players said the phenomenon is not new.
Mr Hong Poh Hin, vice-chairman of the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association, knows of restaurant operators who have been caught for this, although he said he has not encountered this in the 400 or so coffee shops in his association.
Explaining how it works, he said employers usually put down the names of local retirees as workers. However, these retirees do not work in the establishment, nor do they get a salary.
In some cases, they might not even know about the scam. Some of them could be unwitting family members of the employers.
As required by law, the employers pay a portion of these phantom workers' salaries into their CPF accounts. They then use their names to fulfil the quota of local workers that is required.
One reason for the scam is cost - it is much cheaper to get foreign workers than local ones.
'Locals are paid about $1,100 to $1,200 while foreigners are paid only $800 to $900,' said Mr Hong.
'Even if employers pay three locals $60 each for CPF, they will still make a small saving and the foreigners will work longer hours,' he said.
Labour agents like Mr William Tan, the licensee for Foreign Recruitment Centre, said unlicensed agents are often responsible for phantom workers.
'Employers need labour so they sometimes advise them to do this,' he said.
Assistant Professor Cheolsung Park at the National University of Singapore's department of economics said that while the practice is not that widespread, phantom workers are used to cut costs.
'They are cheaper and particularly in the recession, employers will want to save.'
Singaporean engineering student Luo Yong Hui, 24, observed the scam at work when he did a stint as a production operator in a factory in Tuas during his school holidays about a year ago.
He was told by foreign workers there that the employers were using locals to give a false headcount.
'The staff comprised about 80 per cent foreigners. The foreign workers earned about $400 a month while the locals earned almost twice this amount,' he said.
'So even after providing CPF to phantom workers, the employers still saved money.'
Employers who play by the rules say errant operators have an unfair advantage over them, particularly now that there is the Jobs Credit scheme.
Mr Lim Leong Tarn, 62, who is in charge of the Yishun Ring Road Eating House coffee shop, said he hires only local workers.
'It isn't fair. The Government may not check when giving out Jobs Credit. As long as the supposed employees fulfil certain criteria, they'll just give out money,' he said.
An MOM spokesman said that companies submitting work permit applications for foreign workers have to declare the number of local employees that are employed by them and that CPF contributions are made to these employees.
'MOM has in place processes to flag unusual company profiles, which may indicate the existence of 'phantom' workers,' he said.
'On-site checks are also made at companies to ascertain if the employees are working for the company.'
He added that the cases identified by MOM and currently under investigation include coffee shops, freight forwarders, construction firms and others.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance added, in reference to the Jobs Credit scheme: 'In any scheme, there is a possibility of abuse.'
It will work closely with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the CPF Board which are administering the scheme to ensure that abuse is minimised, he said.
Quota system
Industry players say the phantom workers phenomenon is also the result of the foreign worker quota scheme as well as the unwillingness of locals to work in certain jobs.
For example, for every local worker employed, the construction sector can hire seven foreign workers; the marine sector, five; and service and landscaping sector, one.
Mr Bob Tan, general manager of A-Star Food Court, said that it can be difficult to hire local workers and government quotas may need to be revised.
'With the current system, employers may have difficulty employing workers. Some may not have enough local headcount and consequently not even be able to hire foreign workers,' he said.
Then again, Singaporeans - especially younger ones - may not want the jobs offered.
A spokesman for Start Point Employment Services said that local workers are picky about jobs and often quit easily.
'When you hire foreign workers, you have more control and their employment is more stable. Employers may have no choice but to turn to foreigners,' she said.
Some suggested reviewing the quotas currently in place and training local workers.
Said Dr Park: 'Quotas create problems because they create artificial barriers and people will find ways around them. What we should focus on is giving local workers a competitive advantage by improving their skills.'
Others advocate strong enforcement of the existing rules.
Said MP Josephine Teo: 'Once there is clear indication that MOM is actively enforcing the rules, awareness will rise and employers will realise the consequences of flouting the law.'
Still, some see a bright side to all this.
Mrs Teo said that the Jobs Credit scheme might end up giving older Singaporean workers an advantage.
She explained: 'Employers need not pay as much CPF for older workers, and with the Jobs Credit scheme, it may be cheaper for employers to just hire locals. Hopefully, this will tilt the balance in their favour.'
No easy task keeping within foreign worker quota
22 February 2009
It strives to maintain the quota but it is no easy task.
The Must Eat coffee shop in Toa Payoh Central has three workers from China and three workers from Malaysia out of its 12 employees there.
This is within the quota for the service industry, where up to 50 per cent of the company's workforce can be foreign workers.
But Ms Chuang Yu Ming, 46, the coffee shop supervisor, said that it can be a challenge to maintain the quota constantly.
Her chief problem? Getting Singaporeans to work at the coffee shop.
While Singaporeans can relate better to customers, they are 'hard to hire because they can be very picky. They don't want to do overtime or wash dishes sometimes, and they have too many demands', she said.
Foreign workers, on the other hand, tend to take fewer days off and are diligent.
Like other coffee shop operators The Sunday Times spoke to, she said she understood why operators may be forced to hire phantom workers, but said that it was unfair to those coffee shop operators who do not break the law.
'The rules are made for a reason and the Government must have put a lot of consideration into them, and it's not fair that other operators benefit from flouting them,' she said.
She tries her best to recruit more Singaporeans by reminding them not to turn down work at a coffee shop so easily.
'I tell them to add value to their skills and tell them that if they are willing to do work, they need not worry about finding a job.'
On local hires
'They don't want to do overtime or wash dishes sometimes, and they have too many demands.'MS CHUANG YU MING, Must Eat coffee shop supervisor
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
'Fights in foreign worker dorms common'
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 22 Feb 09.
Fights in foreign worker dorms common
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
22 February 2009
Straits Times
There is little room for patience, it seems.
A group of Vietnamese and Chinese foreign workers created panic in Geylang last Tuesday evening when they got into a fight in a dormitory. The cause is not known.
Wooden poles and kitchen knives were used in the attack which lasted some 10 minutes and left three injured. The police have arrested three people.
While the incident may have left many residents in the area ruffled, dormitory operators are not batting an eyelid.
Those interviewed by The Sunday Times said dormitory scuffles and squabbles among foreign workers are very common. Their most frequent bone of contention? Living space.
Said Mr Andreas Chan, former director of a Kranji dormitory: 'Quarrels are an everyday affair. Fights take place at least once a week.
'When so many people live together in such a small space, there is bound to be friction. Even extended families living in the same house have their quarrels. What more strangers from different countries with different habits and cultures?'
Not being able to communicate in a common language adds to the problem.
Mr Lim Teck Ho, who operates four foreign-worker dormitories, cited an example: 'Chinese nationals like to speak very loudly. This gives others the impression that they want to start a fight.'
Dormitory operators said arguments usually erupt when workers rush to use the common toilets during peak periods - before work in the morning and after work in the evening. Patience runs thin and tempers flare when they have to wait to shower or use the loo.
Said a dormitory manager who declined to be named: 'Sometimes the morning toilet queues are so long that the workers have to brush their teeth in the lorry taking them to work.'
Mr Chan has heard of a case in a Tuas dormitory where a group of foreign workers stormed a shower cubicle and beat up a fellow worker because he was taking a leisurely shower during the peak period.
The television set can also be a channel of friction.
When workers of various nationalities have to share a TV set, and all want to watch different channels at the same time, there will be arguments. Turning on the volume too loud while others are sleeping can also lead to scuffles.
One dormitory in the north had to confiscate the TV set for a month when its residents got into fisticuffs over channel control.
Mr Lim said the more cramped the dormitory is, and the higher the ratio of residents to facilities, the greater the chance of fights breaking out.
'This is why I allocate each worker at my dormitory at least 5 sq m of space,' he said.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) guidelines require each worker to have room space of at least 3 sq m with a separate space for cupboards, or 4 sq m if there is no separate space.
Operators are not taking chances.
Most workers' dormitories have at least two burly, specially trained guards on duty at any one time. They will conduct spot checks every hour when there are workers around.
Said Mr Liew Kok Seng, dormitory manager at View Road Lodge in Admiralty: 'You cannot employ any normal general worker to be a security guard at a workers' dormitory. You need someone who is fierce and can take control of difficult situations.'
When fights break out and cannot be stopped, the guards will first threaten to call the workers' employers. This tactic is usually successful as workers are most afraid of being repatriated. But if the fight continues, the police will be called in.
Stopping a fight is not easy when there are so many men involved. Which is why efforts are made to prevent one from happening.
The Seletar Flats dormitory in Seletar West Farmway imposes a stiff $200 fine on residents who fight, said its property manager Kelvin Low. This is a quarter of the salary of the average foreign worker.
The dormitory, which houses 3,000 workers, has never had a fight since it started operating three years ago.
Other dormitories prefer a simpler method of keeping peace: providing more space and better facilities.
The View Road Lodge, for example, allows residents to install their own TV sets in their rooms so that they will not have to share the common set.
At the Blue Stars Dormitory in Kian Teck Lane, near Boon Lay, workers are housed in self-equipped units that resemble HDB flats. Each unit has two toilets, two shower rooms and a small sitting area, and is shared by 12 to 14 men.
Residents get to choose who they want to live with to ensure they get along well with their roommates.
Said its property manager Raymond Mak: 'We may have 4,000 workers of many different nationalities in our dormitory. But all of them live in harmony.'
CLASHES IN THE PAST
2000
The body of Bangladeshi worker Farhad Hossain was found near a construction site in Tuas View Circuit with the head cut off and dumped in a muddy trench 300m away.
His fellow worker and roommate, Abdul Based Late Nasin Uddin, was arrested by the police but was later acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
2001
Indian ship electrician Arun Prakash Vaithilingam stabbed one of his housemates with a kitchen knife when the latter commented that he spent too much time in the toilet in the morning. The housemate, welder Lourdusamy Lenin Selvanayagan, also an Indian national, died hours later.
Arun, 24, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
2003
A drunken brawl at a Tampines worksite resulted in Bangladeshi construction worker Mohammad Luftor Rahman Nur Mohammad being bludgeoned to death with a wooden pole.
Police officers and search dogs combed the nearby forested area for six suspects who they believed attacked the 24-year-old.
Five days later, Win Aung, 38, an illegal immigrant from Myanmar, was charged with the murder.
2004
A squeeze to get into a crowded lift led to a brawl among 10 foreign workers at a construction site in George Street.
A man suffered head injuries and was taken to the Singapore General Hospital. Ten workers aged between 27 and 39, of Chinese, Bangladeshi and Indian nationalities, were arrested by the police.
2005
Malaysian grasscutter Michael Utang attacked a Bangladeshi co-worker with a knife during a quarrel in their Yishun flat, and sliced off part of his ear.
Utang had swung the knife at Mr Abu Sotton Late Ali Azzam, who tried to dodge it. But part of Abu Sotton's left ear was lopped off. It was later re-attached. Utang was jailed for 18 months.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Fights in foreign worker dorms common
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
22 February 2009
Straits Times
There is little room for patience, it seems.
A group of Vietnamese and Chinese foreign workers created panic in Geylang last Tuesday evening when they got into a fight in a dormitory. The cause is not known.
Wooden poles and kitchen knives were used in the attack which lasted some 10 minutes and left three injured. The police have arrested three people.
While the incident may have left many residents in the area ruffled, dormitory operators are not batting an eyelid.
Those interviewed by The Sunday Times said dormitory scuffles and squabbles among foreign workers are very common. Their most frequent bone of contention? Living space.
Said Mr Andreas Chan, former director of a Kranji dormitory: 'Quarrels are an everyday affair. Fights take place at least once a week.
'When so many people live together in such a small space, there is bound to be friction. Even extended families living in the same house have their quarrels. What more strangers from different countries with different habits and cultures?'
Not being able to communicate in a common language adds to the problem.
Mr Lim Teck Ho, who operates four foreign-worker dormitories, cited an example: 'Chinese nationals like to speak very loudly. This gives others the impression that they want to start a fight.'
Dormitory operators said arguments usually erupt when workers rush to use the common toilets during peak periods - before work in the morning and after work in the evening. Patience runs thin and tempers flare when they have to wait to shower or use the loo.
Said a dormitory manager who declined to be named: 'Sometimes the morning toilet queues are so long that the workers have to brush their teeth in the lorry taking them to work.'
Mr Chan has heard of a case in a Tuas dormitory where a group of foreign workers stormed a shower cubicle and beat up a fellow worker because he was taking a leisurely shower during the peak period.
The television set can also be a channel of friction.
When workers of various nationalities have to share a TV set, and all want to watch different channels at the same time, there will be arguments. Turning on the volume too loud while others are sleeping can also lead to scuffles.
One dormitory in the north had to confiscate the TV set for a month when its residents got into fisticuffs over channel control.
Mr Lim said the more cramped the dormitory is, and the higher the ratio of residents to facilities, the greater the chance of fights breaking out.
'This is why I allocate each worker at my dormitory at least 5 sq m of space,' he said.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) guidelines require each worker to have room space of at least 3 sq m with a separate space for cupboards, or 4 sq m if there is no separate space.
Operators are not taking chances.
Most workers' dormitories have at least two burly, specially trained guards on duty at any one time. They will conduct spot checks every hour when there are workers around.
Said Mr Liew Kok Seng, dormitory manager at View Road Lodge in Admiralty: 'You cannot employ any normal general worker to be a security guard at a workers' dormitory. You need someone who is fierce and can take control of difficult situations.'
When fights break out and cannot be stopped, the guards will first threaten to call the workers' employers. This tactic is usually successful as workers are most afraid of being repatriated. But if the fight continues, the police will be called in.
Stopping a fight is not easy when there are so many men involved. Which is why efforts are made to prevent one from happening.
The Seletar Flats dormitory in Seletar West Farmway imposes a stiff $200 fine on residents who fight, said its property manager Kelvin Low. This is a quarter of the salary of the average foreign worker.
The dormitory, which houses 3,000 workers, has never had a fight since it started operating three years ago.
Other dormitories prefer a simpler method of keeping peace: providing more space and better facilities.
The View Road Lodge, for example, allows residents to install their own TV sets in their rooms so that they will not have to share the common set.
At the Blue Stars Dormitory in Kian Teck Lane, near Boon Lay, workers are housed in self-equipped units that resemble HDB flats. Each unit has two toilets, two shower rooms and a small sitting area, and is shared by 12 to 14 men.
Residents get to choose who they want to live with to ensure they get along well with their roommates.
Said its property manager Raymond Mak: 'We may have 4,000 workers of many different nationalities in our dormitory. But all of them live in harmony.'
CLASHES IN THE PAST
2000
The body of Bangladeshi worker Farhad Hossain was found near a construction site in Tuas View Circuit with the head cut off and dumped in a muddy trench 300m away.
His fellow worker and roommate, Abdul Based Late Nasin Uddin, was arrested by the police but was later acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
2001
Indian ship electrician Arun Prakash Vaithilingam stabbed one of his housemates with a kitchen knife when the latter commented that he spent too much time in the toilet in the morning. The housemate, welder Lourdusamy Lenin Selvanayagan, also an Indian national, died hours later.
Arun, 24, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
2003
A drunken brawl at a Tampines worksite resulted in Bangladeshi construction worker Mohammad Luftor Rahman Nur Mohammad being bludgeoned to death with a wooden pole.
Police officers and search dogs combed the nearby forested area for six suspects who they believed attacked the 24-year-old.
Five days later, Win Aung, 38, an illegal immigrant from Myanmar, was charged with the murder.
2004
A squeeze to get into a crowded lift led to a brawl among 10 foreign workers at a construction site in George Street.
A man suffered head injuries and was taken to the Singapore General Hospital. Ten workers aged between 27 and 39, of Chinese, Bangladeshi and Indian nationalities, were arrested by the police.
2005
Malaysian grasscutter Michael Utang attacked a Bangladeshi co-worker with a knife during a quarrel in their Yishun flat, and sliced off part of his ear.
Utang had swung the knife at Mr Abu Sotton Late Ali Azzam, who tried to dodge it. But part of Abu Sotton's left ear was lopped off. It was later re-attached. Utang was jailed for 18 months.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Friday, February 20, 2009
Syndicates extend social visit pass by falsifying address, marriage
The following article was published in TODAY on
PRC overstayer fined - Syndicates extend social visit pass by falsifying address, marriage
By Zul Othman
Friday,February 20, 2009
TODAY
SHE needed her social visit pass to be extended and, through an acquaintance, met two Chinese men who said they could do it.
Yang Jun said she had never met the men before; the 26-year-old nonetheless paid them $400 to help settle her woes, as her pass was due to expire in December 2005.
Now, the Chinese national has been found to have broken the law. The address on her application was not hers, and she was charged with making a false declaration.
Yang, who enrolled last year for an English language course, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Subordinate Court to breaching the Immigration Act.
Her offence was only uncovered when the authorities smashed a syndicate in January 2006 headed by one Lim Kien Peng, which led the Corrupt Practices Investigation Board to his “black planner”. This had the names and particulars of all the Chinese nations he had helped.
While it is not known how many people were implicated, Today understands that all of Lim’s clients were subsequently arrested.
Yang was fined $4,000 yesterday — instead of the usual jail time — because District Judge Chia Wee Kiat felt that she was not aware of the proper procedures at the time and had been reliant on the agents.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Chia Boon Teck said the agents had dupedYang, as they did not inform her how they were going to extend her social visit pass.
Yang Jianmei — another of the syndicate’s clients — was also brought to the dock yesterday for making a false declaration to extend her social visit pass.
The 37-year-old, however, had conspired to enter into a sham marriage with an accomplice of Lim — one Kong Kim Poh. She falsely declared in September 2005 that she was living with Kong in Corporation Road, when in fact her address was Geylang Lorong 31.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Karen Ang, “a large number of foreigners, particularly women from PRC (People’s Republic of China)” are extending their social visit passes, many of whom through marriages of convenience.
But fewer overstayers are being caught: 3,600 last year down from 4,800 in 2007, according to Immigration and Checkpoints Authority data.
The case has been adjourned to March 17, as her lawyer is obtaining a medical report in respect to her five-week pregnancy. The unemployed woman could be jailed for up to three months.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd.
PRC overstayer fined - Syndicates extend social visit pass by falsifying address, marriage
By Zul Othman
Friday,February 20, 2009
TODAY
SHE needed her social visit pass to be extended and, through an acquaintance, met two Chinese men who said they could do it.
Yang Jun said she had never met the men before; the 26-year-old nonetheless paid them $400 to help settle her woes, as her pass was due to expire in December 2005.
Now, the Chinese national has been found to have broken the law. The address on her application was not hers, and she was charged with making a false declaration.
Yang, who enrolled last year for an English language course, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Subordinate Court to breaching the Immigration Act.
Her offence was only uncovered when the authorities smashed a syndicate in January 2006 headed by one Lim Kien Peng, which led the Corrupt Practices Investigation Board to his “black planner”. This had the names and particulars of all the Chinese nations he had helped.
While it is not known how many people were implicated, Today understands that all of Lim’s clients were subsequently arrested.
Yang was fined $4,000 yesterday — instead of the usual jail time — because District Judge Chia Wee Kiat felt that she was not aware of the proper procedures at the time and had been reliant on the agents.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Chia Boon Teck said the agents had dupedYang, as they did not inform her how they were going to extend her social visit pass.
Yang Jianmei — another of the syndicate’s clients — was also brought to the dock yesterday for making a false declaration to extend her social visit pass.
The 37-year-old, however, had conspired to enter into a sham marriage with an accomplice of Lim — one Kong Kim Poh. She falsely declared in September 2005 that she was living with Kong in Corporation Road, when in fact her address was Geylang Lorong 31.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Karen Ang, “a large number of foreigners, particularly women from PRC (People’s Republic of China)” are extending their social visit passes, many of whom through marriages of convenience.
But fewer overstayers are being caught: 3,600 last year down from 4,800 in 2007, according to Immigration and Checkpoints Authority data.
The case has been adjourned to March 17, as her lawyer is obtaining a medical report in respect to her five-week pregnancy. The unemployed woman could be jailed for up to three months.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Security and traffic conditions for Serangoon Gardens dorm
The following article was published in TODAY on 20 Feb 09.
Security, traffic among the 14 conditions worker’s dorm must meet
By Joanne Chan
Friday, February 20, 2009
AS EARLY as August. That’s how soon the foreign workers’ dormitory in Serangoon Gardens is expected to be up and running.
The selection of an operator to run it is already underway, five months after the proposal for such a dormitory sparked-off a heated debate and protests from residents in the estate.The go-ahead was eventually given.
The August deadline was given in a letter from Ms Lim Hwee Hua, the MP for the ward, and posted a few days ago on a website that had been specially set up to keep residents informed of developments.
Ms Lim said the Ministry of National Development (MND) had provided her with a timetable of how the dorm will be built over the next few months. She also wrote that the tender for selection of the dorm operator had closed, and that a decision as to who it will be could be made early next month.
But before the successful bidder can begin work on the dormitory, 938LIVE has found out that he has to fulfill 14 conditions.
These include security issues and ensuring that traffic jams do not become a problem.
The list was drawn up by a working committee representing some 1,500 households in the estate. It was set up to gather feedback from the residents, and to work with MND.
The committee is divided into four subgroups, focusing on traffic, security, the environment and engaging with MND.
Mr John Leow, its chairman, told 938LIVE that the dorm would only materialise if all the conditions are met.
“We have actually set it up for MND, when they sent out the tender documents. It’s all ... stated in the tender documents, everything which we’ve requested. Before the contract can be signed, we will ensure that all these conditions are laid out, and we will not accept otherwise.”
When asked if Serangoon Garden residents still object to having the dormitory in their midst, Mr Leow said that they will be appeased — as long as the conditions are met.
Work on the access road linking the dorm and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 has also begun and will likely be completed by the end of July. 938LIVE
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Security, traffic among the 14 conditions worker’s dorm must meet
By Joanne Chan
Friday, February 20, 2009
AS EARLY as August. That’s how soon the foreign workers’ dormitory in Serangoon Gardens is expected to be up and running.
The selection of an operator to run it is already underway, five months after the proposal for such a dormitory sparked-off a heated debate and protests from residents in the estate.The go-ahead was eventually given.
The August deadline was given in a letter from Ms Lim Hwee Hua, the MP for the ward, and posted a few days ago on a website that had been specially set up to keep residents informed of developments.
Ms Lim said the Ministry of National Development (MND) had provided her with a timetable of how the dorm will be built over the next few months. She also wrote that the tender for selection of the dorm operator had closed, and that a decision as to who it will be could be made early next month.
But before the successful bidder can begin work on the dormitory, 938LIVE has found out that he has to fulfill 14 conditions.
These include security issues and ensuring that traffic jams do not become a problem.
The list was drawn up by a working committee representing some 1,500 households in the estate. It was set up to gather feedback from the residents, and to work with MND.
The committee is divided into four subgroups, focusing on traffic, security, the environment and engaging with MND.
Mr John Leow, its chairman, told 938LIVE that the dorm would only materialise if all the conditions are met.
“We have actually set it up for MND, when they sent out the tender documents. It’s all ... stated in the tender documents, everything which we’ve requested. Before the contract can be signed, we will ensure that all these conditions are laid out, and we will not accept otherwise.”
When asked if Serangoon Garden residents still object to having the dormitory in their midst, Mr Leow said that they will be appeased — as long as the conditions are met.
Work on the access road linking the dorm and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 has also begun and will likely be completed by the end of July. 938LIVE
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Are Singaporeans now less tolerant of ill-treatment of foreign workers?
The following article appeared in the New Paper on 20 Feb 09.
Number of such abuse cases falling
By Genevieve Jiang
20 February 2009
The New Paper
Welfare groups say S'poreans now less tolerant of ill-treatment of foreign workers
A POLICE officer was sentenced to a year's jail late last year for kicking and slapping his maid on five occasions.
That same month, a mother and daughter were sentenced to between four and six weeks' jail for taking turns to abuse their Indonesian maid within three months of her starting work for them.
On Tuesday, news broke that a Singaporean pub owner had been accused of verbally abusing, then beating and threatening to burn his Filipino employee when she refused to cower before him.
The Singaporean employer abusing a foreign worker has become an all-too-tired headline.
But it does not reflect an increase in the number of foreign worker abuse cases here, said at least two advocacy and welfare groups for foreign workers.
It was reported last year that the number of substantiated maid abuse cases handled by the police fell from 157 cases in 1997 to 68 in 2007.
And although the number of calls for help to Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) have gone up from 177 in 2007 to 266 last year, the group's president, Mr John Gee, said a breakdown of the figures showed a drop in the number of abuse complaints.
Out of the 266 calls received last year, 262 were from female domestic workers.
Of these, the majority were about salary problems, not getting a day off, and problems transferring to another employer.
Said Mr Gee: 'Increasingly, Singaporeans in general are more aware, more critical, and less tolerant of abusive behaviour towards foreign workers.
Problem families
'And usually, cases of abuse happen in families who have a range of other problems, such as financial and emotional problems.
'The multitude of stresses on the family may cause them to snap and the maid becomes the convenient target for releasing their frustration.'
At the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), the number of foreign workers asking for help has increased from 50 to 60 cases a month previously to about 150 cases a month in the past two months.
But Mr Jolovan Wham, Home's executive director, said the surge in cases was due to the economic crisis, resulting in workers losing their jobs and having problems with salaries and housing.
He was not able to provide statistics on maid abuse cases, but said the recession could be a reason a minority of errant employers are lashing out at their workers.
Not all errant employers come from the lower income group, said Mr Gee.
One example was that of a domestic maid who was not given enough food to eat by her employer, who was well-to-do and lived in landed property.
When a neighbour, who was concerned about the maid's ailing health, tried to offer her food, the employer flew into a rage.
Late last year, the neighbour called TWC2 for help, and the case was eventually resolved.
Said Mr Gee: 'Now and then, I come across people who use the phrase, 'domestic workers and their owners'.
'It reflects a disturbing viewpoint that domestic workers are personal property, not to be treated like human beings.
'So it means they can be made to work longer hours, and we don't need to say 'please' or 'thank you' to them.'
But he maintains that such errant employers are the minority.
Mr Wham believes education is key in improving the situation.
He said: 'More efforts should be made to educate both the employer and employee about their obligations and rights.
'Managing employer-employee relationship is integral as well. Some companies may need to be equipped with effective dispute resolution skills to prevent conflicts from escalating into outright abuse.'
But some Singaporean employers believe there are more inspiring than horror stories here.
Said Madam Annie Lim, 56, a retiree and employer of two maids: 'I've heard of Singaporean employers who go the distance for their maids by paying for their medical bills, celebrating their birthdays, and even helping them to get married.'
Copyright 2009, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Number of such abuse cases falling
By Genevieve Jiang
20 February 2009
The New Paper
Welfare groups say S'poreans now less tolerant of ill-treatment of foreign workers
A POLICE officer was sentenced to a year's jail late last year for kicking and slapping his maid on five occasions.
That same month, a mother and daughter were sentenced to between four and six weeks' jail for taking turns to abuse their Indonesian maid within three months of her starting work for them.
On Tuesday, news broke that a Singaporean pub owner had been accused of verbally abusing, then beating and threatening to burn his Filipino employee when she refused to cower before him.
The Singaporean employer abusing a foreign worker has become an all-too-tired headline.
But it does not reflect an increase in the number of foreign worker abuse cases here, said at least two advocacy and welfare groups for foreign workers.
It was reported last year that the number of substantiated maid abuse cases handled by the police fell from 157 cases in 1997 to 68 in 2007.
And although the number of calls for help to Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) have gone up from 177 in 2007 to 266 last year, the group's president, Mr John Gee, said a breakdown of the figures showed a drop in the number of abuse complaints.
Out of the 266 calls received last year, 262 were from female domestic workers.
Of these, the majority were about salary problems, not getting a day off, and problems transferring to another employer.
Said Mr Gee: 'Increasingly, Singaporeans in general are more aware, more critical, and less tolerant of abusive behaviour towards foreign workers.
Problem families
'And usually, cases of abuse happen in families who have a range of other problems, such as financial and emotional problems.
'The multitude of stresses on the family may cause them to snap and the maid becomes the convenient target for releasing their frustration.'
At the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), the number of foreign workers asking for help has increased from 50 to 60 cases a month previously to about 150 cases a month in the past two months.
But Mr Jolovan Wham, Home's executive director, said the surge in cases was due to the economic crisis, resulting in workers losing their jobs and having problems with salaries and housing.
He was not able to provide statistics on maid abuse cases, but said the recession could be a reason a minority of errant employers are lashing out at their workers.
Not all errant employers come from the lower income group, said Mr Gee.
One example was that of a domestic maid who was not given enough food to eat by her employer, who was well-to-do and lived in landed property.
When a neighbour, who was concerned about the maid's ailing health, tried to offer her food, the employer flew into a rage.
Late last year, the neighbour called TWC2 for help, and the case was eventually resolved.
Said Mr Gee: 'Now and then, I come across people who use the phrase, 'domestic workers and their owners'.
'It reflects a disturbing viewpoint that domestic workers are personal property, not to be treated like human beings.
'So it means they can be made to work longer hours, and we don't need to say 'please' or 'thank you' to them.'
But he maintains that such errant employers are the minority.
Mr Wham believes education is key in improving the situation.
He said: 'More efforts should be made to educate both the employer and employee about their obligations and rights.
'Managing employer-employee relationship is integral as well. Some companies may need to be equipped with effective dispute resolution skills to prevent conflicts from escalating into outright abuse.'
But some Singaporean employers believe there are more inspiring than horror stories here.
Said Madam Annie Lim, 56, a retiree and employer of two maids: 'I've heard of Singaporean employers who go the distance for their maids by paying for their medical bills, celebrating their birthdays, and even helping them to get married.'
Copyright 2009, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Serangoon Gardens dorm could open in August
The following article appeared in the Straits Times on 20 Feb 09.
Serangoon Gardens dorm could open in August
By Melissa Sim
20 February 2009
Straits Times
THE foreign worker dormitory proposed for Serangoon Gardens, which sparked outrage among residents before it was announced, could begin operations in August.
Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament Lim Hwee Hua, in a letter to residents posted on the GRC's website, also provided updates on the tender process, which closed in mid-December last year.
The contract to build the dorm at a disused school is likely to be awarded by early next month and work can start in May.
An access road, which will allow the dorm residents to come and go without passing through the estate, is likely be completed by the end of July, she added.
Residents of the ageing estate of landed properties kicked up a ruckus last September when they got wind of the Government's plan to site a foreign worker dorm in their neighbourhood.
More than a thousand residents put their signatures on a petition against the dorm and gave this to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
The key concerns they raised included traffic congestion, security and safety, and competition for the use of common facilities.
Last October, the Ministry of National Development said that it would go ahead and convert the disused school there into the dorm, but the residents' concerns would be considered.
For example, the dorm would accommodate 600 workers at most for a start, and they would be those working in manufacturing and services only; the dorm would also be given its own facilities, such as a provision shop.
The access road was included among the measures to reassure Serangoon Gardens residents that their estate would not be overrun by foreign workers.
Mr E.T. Mohan Dass, a 60-year-old resident, when asked whether he was still concerned about these foreigners being there, said he was 'okay' with it if the access road is in place.
'It's not that we don't like them, the estate is just too small,' he said.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Serangoon Gardens dorm could open in August
By Melissa Sim
20 February 2009
Straits Times
THE foreign worker dormitory proposed for Serangoon Gardens, which sparked outrage among residents before it was announced, could begin operations in August.
Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament Lim Hwee Hua, in a letter to residents posted on the GRC's website, also provided updates on the tender process, which closed in mid-December last year.
The contract to build the dorm at a disused school is likely to be awarded by early next month and work can start in May.
An access road, which will allow the dorm residents to come and go without passing through the estate, is likely be completed by the end of July, she added.
Residents of the ageing estate of landed properties kicked up a ruckus last September when they got wind of the Government's plan to site a foreign worker dorm in their neighbourhood.
More than a thousand residents put their signatures on a petition against the dorm and gave this to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.
The key concerns they raised included traffic congestion, security and safety, and competition for the use of common facilities.
Last October, the Ministry of National Development said that it would go ahead and convert the disused school there into the dorm, but the residents' concerns would be considered.
For example, the dorm would accommodate 600 workers at most for a start, and they would be those working in manufacturing and services only; the dorm would also be given its own facilities, such as a provision shop.
The access road was included among the measures to reassure Serangoon Gardens residents that their estate would not be overrun by foreign workers.
Mr E.T. Mohan Dass, a 60-year-old resident, when asked whether he was still concerned about these foreigners being there, said he was 'okay' with it if the access road is in place.
'It's not that we don't like them, the estate is just too small,' he said.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Thursday, February 19, 2009
BBC News Segment: Plight of migrant workers in Singapore
The following BBC news segment was posted online on Weds, 18 February 2009.
"Migrants who have travelled to Singapore looking for a better life are said to be living on charity, suffering from the effects of the recession.
Asia supplies much of the world's migrant workers and the the International Labour Organisation says the region could have up to 22 million people without a job this year.
Juliana Liu reports from Singapore."
To watch the video, click here.
"Migrants who have travelled to Singapore looking for a better life are said to be living on charity, suffering from the effects of the recession.
Asia supplies much of the world's migrant workers and the the International Labour Organisation says the region could have up to 22 million people without a job this year.
Juliana Liu reports from Singapore."
To watch the video, click here.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
'Hard for workers to just pack up and go'
The following article appeared in the Straits Times on 17 Feb 09.
Hard for workers to just pack up and go
By Melissa Sim
17 February 2009
Straits Times
MPs highlight plight of debt-laden foreigners who must leave if they cannot find jobs here
FOR foreign workers who have to go home after spending just a few months in Singapore, their problems do not end here.
In Parliament last Friday, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and Health Hawazi Daipi said that when projects are cancelled or delayed, employers should 'terminate the workers' contracts and facilitate their repatriation' after resolving all employment issues.
But for these workers, going home means having to face hefty debts. Many have sold land and borrowed money from family, friends or lenders to pay agents up to $10,000 for their passage to Singapore.
Their pay here is usually $17 a day, which works out to about $500 each month, working for 30 days.
Agents said it is not the practice to give these workers their money back if things do not work out.
Mrs Bridget Lew, president of migrant workers advocacy group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said: 'There are no receipts, no contracts, so they can't get anything back.'
Some will try though. A Bangladeshi worker for marine company Gates Offshore, who wished to be known only as Mr Kaiyum, said he came to Singapore four months ago and was not given work.
The company is being investigated for failing to pay workers' salaries. Earlier last month, it paid the arrears, and the workers were given the choice of returning home or staying here to look for alternative employment.
Mr Kaiyum, 30, said he does not want to go home unless he can get back his agent's fee of $9,500. But his agent in Singapore has not returned his calls.
Only one agent told The Straits Times he would refund part of his fee if the worker turned out to be unsuitable for the job.
To help foreign workers deal with premature termination of their contracts, MP Halimah Yacob suggested in a letter to The Straits Times last month that compensation clauses should be worked into them. She also suggested that the Manpower Ministry (MOM) could allow companies, in special cases, to deploy workers to other sectors so that they would 'have the chance to recover the costs that they had incurred in order to work in Singapore'.
Last Friday, during the Budget debate, MPs also flagged the plight of debt-laden foreign workers.
Ms Denise Phua said that dictating the range of fees charged by recruiters would shrink the hefty loans borne by the foreign worker. She added that Taiwan had crafted 'relevant legislation on this matter'.
She said the Government should 'permit only authorised good quality recruitment companies to recruit labour from abroad for local companies'.
Mr Hawazi replied that there are caps on the amount that workers and employers can be charged for placement.
According to MOM, under the Employment Agency Rules, registration fees for an employment agency should not be more than $5, and its commission from the worker, not more than 10 per cent of the worker's first month's earnings.
But reality is very different.
Another Gates Offshore worker Tuful Aslam, 38, who is trying to land another employer, said there was no way for him to repay his debts as he has used up all his savings.
'I borrowed from friends and from a money lender. If I go home now, I will die,' said the father of three.
Not all employment agents are bona fide
WHEN employers seek foreign workers, they probably go through one of the 2,000 licensed employment agents here.
These licensed agents get a cut of $3,000 to $5,000 of the fees paid to recruiters in the home country.
China workers reportedly pay up to $10,000 to get here.
Agents said the fees go towards administrative, transport and medical costs. Only licensed agents and employers can apply for work permits for foreign workers. To be a licensed agent, one has to sit an examination and put down a deposit of $20,000 in a banker's guarantee.
But illegal agents also operate here, say bona fide agents. They are usually former foreign workers who bring their friends or relatives here for work initially. They link workers up with employers, then ask legal agents for administrative help. The legal agents get a cut of about $1,000 for lending their name to a work permit application.
Often, it is these 'freelance' agents who mislead foreign workers with false promises of jobs in Singapore.
Since 2005, the Manpower Ministry has clamped down on over 30 illegal agents. A list of licensed agents here can be obtained from the its website.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Hard for workers to just pack up and go
By Melissa Sim
17 February 2009
Straits Times
MPs highlight plight of debt-laden foreigners who must leave if they cannot find jobs here
FOR foreign workers who have to go home after spending just a few months in Singapore, their problems do not end here.
In Parliament last Friday, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and Health Hawazi Daipi said that when projects are cancelled or delayed, employers should 'terminate the workers' contracts and facilitate their repatriation' after resolving all employment issues.
But for these workers, going home means having to face hefty debts. Many have sold land and borrowed money from family, friends or lenders to pay agents up to $10,000 for their passage to Singapore.
Their pay here is usually $17 a day, which works out to about $500 each month, working for 30 days.
Agents said it is not the practice to give these workers their money back if things do not work out.
Mrs Bridget Lew, president of migrant workers advocacy group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said: 'There are no receipts, no contracts, so they can't get anything back.'
Some will try though. A Bangladeshi worker for marine company Gates Offshore, who wished to be known only as Mr Kaiyum, said he came to Singapore four months ago and was not given work.
The company is being investigated for failing to pay workers' salaries. Earlier last month, it paid the arrears, and the workers were given the choice of returning home or staying here to look for alternative employment.
Mr Kaiyum, 30, said he does not want to go home unless he can get back his agent's fee of $9,500. But his agent in Singapore has not returned his calls.
Only one agent told The Straits Times he would refund part of his fee if the worker turned out to be unsuitable for the job.
To help foreign workers deal with premature termination of their contracts, MP Halimah Yacob suggested in a letter to The Straits Times last month that compensation clauses should be worked into them. She also suggested that the Manpower Ministry (MOM) could allow companies, in special cases, to deploy workers to other sectors so that they would 'have the chance to recover the costs that they had incurred in order to work in Singapore'.
Last Friday, during the Budget debate, MPs also flagged the plight of debt-laden foreign workers.
Ms Denise Phua said that dictating the range of fees charged by recruiters would shrink the hefty loans borne by the foreign worker. She added that Taiwan had crafted 'relevant legislation on this matter'.
She said the Government should 'permit only authorised good quality recruitment companies to recruit labour from abroad for local companies'.
Mr Hawazi replied that there are caps on the amount that workers and employers can be charged for placement.
According to MOM, under the Employment Agency Rules, registration fees for an employment agency should not be more than $5, and its commission from the worker, not more than 10 per cent of the worker's first month's earnings.
But reality is very different.
Another Gates Offshore worker Tuful Aslam, 38, who is trying to land another employer, said there was no way for him to repay his debts as he has used up all his savings.
'I borrowed from friends and from a money lender. If I go home now, I will die,' said the father of three.
Not all employment agents are bona fide
WHEN employers seek foreign workers, they probably go through one of the 2,000 licensed employment agents here.
These licensed agents get a cut of $3,000 to $5,000 of the fees paid to recruiters in the home country.
China workers reportedly pay up to $10,000 to get here.
Agents said the fees go towards administrative, transport and medical costs. Only licensed agents and employers can apply for work permits for foreign workers. To be a licensed agent, one has to sit an examination and put down a deposit of $20,000 in a banker's guarantee.
But illegal agents also operate here, say bona fide agents. They are usually former foreign workers who bring their friends or relatives here for work initially. They link workers up with employers, then ask legal agents for administrative help. The legal agents get a cut of about $1,000 for lending their name to a work permit application.
Often, it is these 'freelance' agents who mislead foreign workers with false promises of jobs in Singapore.
Since 2005, the Manpower Ministry has clamped down on over 30 illegal agents. A list of licensed agents here can be obtained from the its website.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
50 Bangladeshi workers gather outside the MOM for help
The following story and image was posted by Reuters on Mon Feb 16, 2009. The Bangladeshi migrant workers were formerly employed by P.A. San Venture.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Some 50 unemployed Bangladeshi migrant workers gathered in front of Singapore's Ministry of Manpower on Monday, urging the government to give them work and help retrieve overdue pay from previous employers.
The shipyard workers said they were promised new jobs by ministry officials when they were moved out of their employers' dormitories after their firms went bankrupt and could not pay them.
"No job, no money, only eating and sleeping," said Tutul Abdul Manan, a 31-year-old who said he gave up his temporary job with the government in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and paid some S$9,000 ($5,964) for a brokerage fee to work in Singapore.
Singapore's construction, shipyard and manufacturing industries were once red hot, hiring almost 800,000 migrants in 2007. But as the economy slid into recession last year, demand for labour dived and major projects were cancelled or delayed.
Human rights groups say many of the world's estimated 100 million migrant workers are in dire predicaments as economic woes in the Gulf, Singapore and Taiwan lead to mass layoffs of labourers from across Asia.
Protests in tightly-controlled Singapore were only made legal last year in a designated zone, "Speakers' Corner", modelled after the one in London's Hyde Park. Elsewhere public gatherings of five or more people are illegal without a police permit.
The Bangladeshi migrants were allowed to meet officials after an hour of waiting.
"We are trying to help them negotiate with their employer discreetly. But they have become more and more savvy by inviting the media here," one government official said at the gathering.
Singapore defends the need for tough protest laws, citing concerns over public safety and order. But several international human right groups such as Amnesty International have said Singapore uses these laws to stifle dissent.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-38041520090216
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Some 50 unemployed Bangladeshi migrant workers gathered in front of Singapore's Ministry of Manpower on Monday, urging the government to give them work and help retrieve overdue pay from previous employers.
The shipyard workers said they were promised new jobs by ministry officials when they were moved out of their employers' dormitories after their firms went bankrupt and could not pay them.
"No job, no money, only eating and sleeping," said Tutul Abdul Manan, a 31-year-old who said he gave up his temporary job with the government in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and paid some S$9,000 ($5,964) for a brokerage fee to work in Singapore.
Singapore's construction, shipyard and manufacturing industries were once red hot, hiring almost 800,000 migrants in 2007. But as the economy slid into recession last year, demand for labour dived and major projects were cancelled or delayed.
Human rights groups say many of the world's estimated 100 million migrant workers are in dire predicaments as economic woes in the Gulf, Singapore and Taiwan lead to mass layoffs of labourers from across Asia.
Protests in tightly-controlled Singapore were only made legal last year in a designated zone, "Speakers' Corner", modelled after the one in London's Hyde Park. Elsewhere public gatherings of five or more people are illegal without a police permit.
The Bangladeshi migrants were allowed to meet officials after an hour of waiting.
"We are trying to help them negotiate with their employer discreetly. But they have become more and more savvy by inviting the media here," one government official said at the gathering.
Singapore defends the need for tough protest laws, citing concerns over public safety and order. But several international human right groups such as Amnesty International have said Singapore uses these laws to stifle dissent.
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-38041520090216
Sunday, February 15, 2009
She came to work, but found lasting love
The following article was published in The Straits Times on 15 Feb 2009.
[Part of A Special Report: Romance and the Foreign Worker]
She came to work, but found lasting love
The Straits Times
15/02/2009
When Ms Gemma Garcia came to Singapore in 1995 to work as a maid, the then 29-year-old had only one objective in mind – to earn lots of money for her elderly parents and 12 siblings back in the Philippines.
However, everything changed three years later when she met a Singapore Armed Forces officer through a mutual friend and fell in love with him.
Today, Ms Garcia is a Singapore citizen, happily married with three young children and living in a four-room HDB flat in Bishan.
Said the 42-year-old part-time chambermaid: "It was never my intention to find a husband in Singapore. My friend asked if I wanted to get to know someone and I said okay."
Her Indian Singaporean husband, 42, declined to be interviewed.
Ms Garcia said she has no idea how her friend had his telephone number but she was told that he was specifically looking for a Filipino wife. Many of his friends had Filipino wives as well, she said.
After their first meeting in Woodlands where they had drinks at a coffee shop, the two began dating regularly on her days off.
"I was very lucky because I had a very kind American employer. They allowed me to go out," she said.
When her contract ended a few months later, he followed her home to the Philippines to meet her family and ask for her hand in marriage.
They returned to Singapore two weeks later and started planning for their big day.
However, complications began to surface.
As a former work permit holder, Ms Garcia needed approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before she could marry a Singaporean.
They applied "many, many times" to the ministry but their application was turned down repeatedly, she said. They even sought help from an MP. While waiting for approval, the couple lived in a rented room.
At the same time, Ms Garcia also had to win the heart of her husband's parents who were upset he was not going to marry an Indian girl.
Recalling her first meeting with his family, she said: "I wore a Punjabi suit to please them. But when I got there, they pulled long faces."
After two years, in 2000, they finally received MOM's approval and got married, but their troubles did not stop there.
She said: "I was still not a permanent resident . So I always had to apply for the long-term social visit pass again and again."
Each time her pass expired, she would fly back to the Philippines. When she had her children, she would take them home with her.
"It was very difficult for me but I refused to give up," she said.
Finally in 2004, she was granted permanent residency. Three years later, in 2007, she became a Singapore citizen.
Today, her life revolves around her children and work. She gets along very well with her in-laws now and visits them every Sunday.
She said: "I'm very happy with my life now. Getting where I am now was not easy but it was worth it."
[Part of A Special Report: Romance and the Foreign Worker]
She came to work, but found lasting love
The Straits Times
15/02/2009
When Ms Gemma Garcia came to Singapore in 1995 to work as a maid, the then 29-year-old had only one objective in mind – to earn lots of money for her elderly parents and 12 siblings back in the Philippines.
However, everything changed three years later when she met a Singapore Armed Forces officer through a mutual friend and fell in love with him.
Today, Ms Garcia is a Singapore citizen, happily married with three young children and living in a four-room HDB flat in Bishan.
Said the 42-year-old part-time chambermaid: "It was never my intention to find a husband in Singapore. My friend asked if I wanted to get to know someone and I said okay."
Her Indian Singaporean husband, 42, declined to be interviewed.
Ms Garcia said she has no idea how her friend had his telephone number but she was told that he was specifically looking for a Filipino wife. Many of his friends had Filipino wives as well, she said.
After their first meeting in Woodlands where they had drinks at a coffee shop, the two began dating regularly on her days off.
"I was very lucky because I had a very kind American employer. They allowed me to go out," she said.
When her contract ended a few months later, he followed her home to the Philippines to meet her family and ask for her hand in marriage.
They returned to Singapore two weeks later and started planning for their big day.
However, complications began to surface.
As a former work permit holder, Ms Garcia needed approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before she could marry a Singaporean.
They applied "many, many times" to the ministry but their application was turned down repeatedly, she said. They even sought help from an MP. While waiting for approval, the couple lived in a rented room.
At the same time, Ms Garcia also had to win the heart of her husband's parents who were upset he was not going to marry an Indian girl.
Recalling her first meeting with his family, she said: "I wore a Punjabi suit to please them. But when I got there, they pulled long faces."
After two years, in 2000, they finally received MOM's approval and got married, but their troubles did not stop there.
She said: "I was still not a permanent resident . So I always had to apply for the long-term social visit pass again and again."
Each time her pass expired, she would fly back to the Philippines. When she had her children, she would take them home with her.
"It was very difficult for me but I refused to give up," she said.
Finally in 2004, she was granted permanent residency. Three years later, in 2007, she became a Singapore citizen.
Today, her life revolves around her children and work. She gets along very well with her in-laws now and visits them every Sunday.
She said: "I'm very happy with my life now. Getting where I am now was not easy but it was worth it."
'Looking for love far from home'
The following article appeared in the Straits Times on 15 Feb 09.
Looking for love far from home
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
15 February 2009
Straits Times
Loneliness drives many foreign workers into short-lived relationships but some find lasting love
The murder of Indonesian maid Yulia Afriyanti, allegedly at the hands of her Bangladeshi lover, has thrown the spotlight on the romantic lives of foreign workers here.
On Dec 16, 2007, 25-year-old Ms Yulia's body was found naked and stuffed in a cardboard box in the uncompleted Viz@Holland condominium in Queensway. She had been strangled.
Construction worker Kamrul Hasan Abdul Quddus, 35, a Bangladeshi national who worked at the site, is now on trial for her murder.
The Sunday Times spoke to 30 domestic helpers and found that those who seek romance while working here just want to have a bit of fun.
Of the 30, 12 admitted to having boyfriends here and cited loneliness as the main reason they look for romance.
While most are dating fellow work permit holders, two say they are seeing local men.
Eight of the women are single while the other four are married, some with children, back in their home countries.
Natural desire
Said Mr Jolovan Wham, executive director of foreign worker welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home): 'Most people have desires for intimacy or a relationship with a special someone. This may especially be so for a migrant domestic worker who is far away from home.'
The maids told The Sunday Times they had to keep their romance a secret for fear of being sent home by their employers.
They enter the relationship fully aware that their romance will be short-lived and will inevitably end when either one goes home.
Said a 27-year-old Filipino single who wanted to be known only as Angela: 'I just want some fun in Singapore. I have many female friends but only my boyfriend will call every day and pamper me. It makes me feel special.'
Wati, 31, has a husband and two children back home in Indonesia but is currently dating a Bangladeshi worker who she says looks like a Bollywood star.
'We just go out and spend time together, not more than that. He is my special friend,' she said in Bahasa Indonesia.
For those dating fellow work permit holders, language is often a barrier. But they learn to communicate using simple, often broken English, they said.
They will call or exchange text messages throughout the week, and go on dates on Sundays when both have their day off.
When pay day comes and they have a little extra cash, they would splurge on a few hours at a budget hotel.
On days when there is not much cash, they would set up a tent at the beach instead.
While the majority of foreign worker romances come to an end the moment their contracts expire, some of these flings have led to something more serious.
Mr Ranjit Chandra, a social worker helping Bangladeshis here, said he has seen a handful of Bangladeshi work permit holders marrying their domestic helper girlfriends.
Since work permit holders are not allowed to marry while here, these couples would tie the knot in Bangladesh, Indonesia or the Philippines, where one of them comes from.
They would then settle down in these countries or return to Singapore to work, he said.
A fair number of work permit holders have also married Singaporeans, he added.
Under the Marriage Restriction Policy, all current and former work permit holders need approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before they can marry a Singapore citizen or permanent resident (PR).
If not, he or she may be barred from entering Singapore for a period of time.
Welfare group Home said it has seen three such cases where the work permit holder was banned from entry into Singapore. It managed to appeal for the ban to be lifted in two of the cases.
Said an MOM spokesman: 'This is to reiterate that as transient workers, they ought to come to Singapore for work purposes only.
'This also serves to discourage and prevent a large pool of unskilled or lower-skilled migrant workers from settling in Singapore through marriage with Singaporeans.'
MOM said in 2005 that it granted permission to about 85 per cent of work permit holders wanting to marry Singaporeans. It also said in 2000 that it received between 1,500 and 2,000 marriage applications every year.
Applications are approved on a case-by-case basis, with the applicant's economic status often being a deciding factor.
Mr Ranjit said there are at least 200 Bangladeshi ex-work permit holders who married Singaporean women and eventually settled here.
From anecdotal evidence, the same goes with domestic helpers. As a result, those who are dating local men say they expect more than a fun time.
Sue, a 28-year-old Filipina, has been seeing an Indian Singaporean man for the past year. She does not know what he works as but hopes to marry him and settle down in Singapore.
'We love each other very much and I know he can take care of me,' she said.
Romantic relationships can be risky for domestic helpers. If they get pregnant, they face immediate repatriation.
But the ones interviewed said they are confident that contraceptives can help keep unwanted pregnancies at bay.
For the men, there are also risks involved. Dr Narayanan Saravanan from the Singapore Medical Clinic, which waives treatment fees for needy foreign workers, said sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are among the more common ailments that he sees among foreign workers.
'I see about five STD cases a week. But they are usually mild cases,' he said.
Employers generally get worried when their domestic helpers start dating.
One concern is that they may get pregnant and would have to be repatriated immediately.
Apart from the inconvenience of having to find another domestic helper, the employer also has to bear the cost of repatriation. Some believe that they will stand to lose their security bond to MOM.
But MOM has clarified that it has not forfeited any security bonds of employers just because their domestic helpers had become pregnant. Bonds are forfeited as a last resort, usually when maids go missing.
Dangerous love
Many employers cite security as another concern.
Said housewife Dorothy Ho, 54: 'We always hear stories of maids bringing home their boyfriends or sneaking them into the house at night. What if we get robbed?'
Romance and the risk of contracting STDs may also distract maids from performing their chores, said some employers.
Migrant worker groups say that while employers' fears are understandable, they should not interfere in the social life of their employees.
Said social worker Anne Bergen-Aurand from Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2): 'Employers tend to be much more fearful than necessary. We all know that happy workers are good workers. As long as the worker is not breaking any laws, employers should not interfere.'
Welfare group Home's president Bridget Lew suggests that employers communicate openly with their domestic helpers to address their rights and responsibilities.
'A climate of openness would build trust and understanding in the employer-employee relationship and would allow the opportunity to speak on sexual health and social risks,' she said.
Ms Bergen-Aurand agrees. She said: 'Domestic helpers should be treated like any other employee. They are adults, intelligent and social. So we should treat them as that.'
Should foreign workers have more freedom to have a romantic life? Send your comments to suntimes@sph.com.sg
Feeling special
'I just want some fun in Singapore. I have many female friends but only my boyfriend will call every day and pamper me. It makes me feel special.' ANGELA, a 27-year-old Filipino domestic helper
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Looking for love far from home
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
15 February 2009
Straits Times
Loneliness drives many foreign workers into short-lived relationships but some find lasting love
The murder of Indonesian maid Yulia Afriyanti, allegedly at the hands of her Bangladeshi lover, has thrown the spotlight on the romantic lives of foreign workers here.
On Dec 16, 2007, 25-year-old Ms Yulia's body was found naked and stuffed in a cardboard box in the uncompleted Viz@Holland condominium in Queensway. She had been strangled.
Construction worker Kamrul Hasan Abdul Quddus, 35, a Bangladeshi national who worked at the site, is now on trial for her murder.
The Sunday Times spoke to 30 domestic helpers and found that those who seek romance while working here just want to have a bit of fun.
Of the 30, 12 admitted to having boyfriends here and cited loneliness as the main reason they look for romance.
While most are dating fellow work permit holders, two say they are seeing local men.
Eight of the women are single while the other four are married, some with children, back in their home countries.
Natural desire
Said Mr Jolovan Wham, executive director of foreign worker welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home): 'Most people have desires for intimacy or a relationship with a special someone. This may especially be so for a migrant domestic worker who is far away from home.'
The maids told The Sunday Times they had to keep their romance a secret for fear of being sent home by their employers.
They enter the relationship fully aware that their romance will be short-lived and will inevitably end when either one goes home.
Said a 27-year-old Filipino single who wanted to be known only as Angela: 'I just want some fun in Singapore. I have many female friends but only my boyfriend will call every day and pamper me. It makes me feel special.'
Wati, 31, has a husband and two children back home in Indonesia but is currently dating a Bangladeshi worker who she says looks like a Bollywood star.
'We just go out and spend time together, not more than that. He is my special friend,' she said in Bahasa Indonesia.
For those dating fellow work permit holders, language is often a barrier. But they learn to communicate using simple, often broken English, they said.
They will call or exchange text messages throughout the week, and go on dates on Sundays when both have their day off.
When pay day comes and they have a little extra cash, they would splurge on a few hours at a budget hotel.
On days when there is not much cash, they would set up a tent at the beach instead.
While the majority of foreign worker romances come to an end the moment their contracts expire, some of these flings have led to something more serious.
Mr Ranjit Chandra, a social worker helping Bangladeshis here, said he has seen a handful of Bangladeshi work permit holders marrying their domestic helper girlfriends.
Since work permit holders are not allowed to marry while here, these couples would tie the knot in Bangladesh, Indonesia or the Philippines, where one of them comes from.
They would then settle down in these countries or return to Singapore to work, he said.
A fair number of work permit holders have also married Singaporeans, he added.
Under the Marriage Restriction Policy, all current and former work permit holders need approval from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before they can marry a Singapore citizen or permanent resident (PR).
If not, he or she may be barred from entering Singapore for a period of time.
Welfare group Home said it has seen three such cases where the work permit holder was banned from entry into Singapore. It managed to appeal for the ban to be lifted in two of the cases.
Said an MOM spokesman: 'This is to reiterate that as transient workers, they ought to come to Singapore for work purposes only.
'This also serves to discourage and prevent a large pool of unskilled or lower-skilled migrant workers from settling in Singapore through marriage with Singaporeans.'
MOM said in 2005 that it granted permission to about 85 per cent of work permit holders wanting to marry Singaporeans. It also said in 2000 that it received between 1,500 and 2,000 marriage applications every year.
Applications are approved on a case-by-case basis, with the applicant's economic status often being a deciding factor.
Mr Ranjit said there are at least 200 Bangladeshi ex-work permit holders who married Singaporean women and eventually settled here.
From anecdotal evidence, the same goes with domestic helpers. As a result, those who are dating local men say they expect more than a fun time.
Sue, a 28-year-old Filipina, has been seeing an Indian Singaporean man for the past year. She does not know what he works as but hopes to marry him and settle down in Singapore.
'We love each other very much and I know he can take care of me,' she said.
Romantic relationships can be risky for domestic helpers. If they get pregnant, they face immediate repatriation.
But the ones interviewed said they are confident that contraceptives can help keep unwanted pregnancies at bay.
For the men, there are also risks involved. Dr Narayanan Saravanan from the Singapore Medical Clinic, which waives treatment fees for needy foreign workers, said sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are among the more common ailments that he sees among foreign workers.
'I see about five STD cases a week. But they are usually mild cases,' he said.
Employers generally get worried when their domestic helpers start dating.
One concern is that they may get pregnant and would have to be repatriated immediately.
Apart from the inconvenience of having to find another domestic helper, the employer also has to bear the cost of repatriation. Some believe that they will stand to lose their security bond to MOM.
But MOM has clarified that it has not forfeited any security bonds of employers just because their domestic helpers had become pregnant. Bonds are forfeited as a last resort, usually when maids go missing.
Dangerous love
Many employers cite security as another concern.
Said housewife Dorothy Ho, 54: 'We always hear stories of maids bringing home their boyfriends or sneaking them into the house at night. What if we get robbed?'
Romance and the risk of contracting STDs may also distract maids from performing their chores, said some employers.
Migrant worker groups say that while employers' fears are understandable, they should not interfere in the social life of their employees.
Said social worker Anne Bergen-Aurand from Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2): 'Employers tend to be much more fearful than necessary. We all know that happy workers are good workers. As long as the worker is not breaking any laws, employers should not interfere.'
Welfare group Home's president Bridget Lew suggests that employers communicate openly with their domestic helpers to address their rights and responsibilities.
'A climate of openness would build trust and understanding in the employer-employee relationship and would allow the opportunity to speak on sexual health and social risks,' she said.
Ms Bergen-Aurand agrees. She said: 'Domestic helpers should be treated like any other employee. They are adults, intelligent and social. So we should treat them as that.'
Should foreign workers have more freedom to have a romantic life? Send your comments to suntimes@sph.com.sg
Feeling special
'I just want some fun in Singapore. I have many female friends but only my boyfriend will call every day and pamper me. It makes me feel special.' ANGELA, a 27-year-old Filipino domestic helper
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Phantom workers in coffee shops
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 14 Feb 09.
Don't shoot the cook from China - do his job
By Clarissa Oon, Senior Political Correspondent
14 February 2009
Straits Times
'PHANTOM workers' popped up in Parliament yesterday, the phrase referring to the false declaration of Singaporean employees so an errant coffee-shop boss can qualify to hire foreigners.
But it could also be an ironic metaphor for the much diminished presence now of local service staff in two of the most quintessentially Singaporean institutions: the kopitiam and the hawker centre.
The subject came up as several members of the House pressed the Manpower Ministry to review its liberal foreign worker policy during the downturn, what with growing unemployment and the need to create jobs for Singaporeans.
In particular, they highlighted two areas - one of which was unskilled or semi-skilled labour in heartland eateries - where foreign worker recruitment could be tightened and some jobs diverted to Singaporeans.
The other category is that of mid-level skilled workers, such as technicians. Foreigners in this category come to Singapore to work on an S-Pass, which requires a minimum salary of $1,800.
With retrenchments rising among Singaporean executives and technicians, Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) asked whether the ministry had plans to tweak the current quota for S-Pass holders, who can comprise up to 25 per cent of a company's total workforce.
In reply, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said he is tightening the criteria for S-Pass holders, who typically have diplomas or high-school qualifications. This is 'to ensure that (the) workers who come to Singapore are of a certain skill that we need, of a certain qualification that we are looking for'.
What about service jobs at food and beverage outlets in HDB estates? Some of what is currently performed by China workers could also be done by elderly Singaporeans and middle-aged housewives looking for work near their homes, said Mr Ong Ah Heng (Nee Soon Central).
The requisite ratio of local to foreign employees for these small shops is six to one, but a shop owner with no foreigners on his payroll had sounded out Mr Ong, saying many of his counterparts got their foreign workers by faking the presence of local staff.
'He told me: 'Where can you find a coffee shop with as many as six local workers? The numbers are just for show and the authorities just close one eye,'' said Mr Ong in Mandarin.
Mr Gan was quick to assure him that his ministry has stepped up enforcement action against such cases. It is currently investigating 33 cases of possible use of phantom workers.
One owner of an F&B outlet has been charged in court with declaring phantom workers in work-permit applications.
The minister did not comment on Mr Ong's broader point: the intractable problem of persuading kopitiam owners to hire locals instead.
While many Singaporeans have mixed feelings about their hawker centres and foodcourts being staffed by workers from China, the fact is bosses like these workers because they are younger, cheaper to hire than locals and willing to work longer hours.
But are the latter really that much cheaper? Actually, as Mr Ong pointed out, the salaries of Singaporean and China hires even out once you add in the foreign worker levy and, in most cases, lodging for the worker, both of which are paid for by the employer. The monthly rental of a room is around $200 to $250.
A Straits Times feature last year on the local-foreign divide at Geylang coffee shops found that a Singaporean worker earns between $1,100 and $1,300 a month for a nine-hour workday.
China workers will do a 12-hour daily shift for around $900 a month, but bosses have to fork out a monthly levy of $150 and up.
The main difference, according to coffee-shop owners, is the work attitude.
'A local worker may not come to work if she doesn't feel like it. With a foreigner, because of her work permit, you don't have to worry that she won't come tomorrow,' the chairman of one association of coffee-shop merchants told this newspaper.
Given that coffee shops and hawker stalls have bottom lines too, one way forward is for the Manpower Ministry to give them incentives to hire locals.
Unfortunately, the Government's Jobs Credit scheme, which subsidises an employer's cost of hiring a Singaporean or resident, does not apply in this case because such shops typically employ short-term contract or even temporary workers who do not pay CPF.
The other hurdle is the average Singaporean's antipathy towards service jobs in general.
Sure, Singaporeans complain routinely about being served by China workers who cannot speak English, or about how their laksa is now made by a cook from Shandong province and no longer tastes the same.
But will low-income Singaporeans take - and stick with - jobs that involve waiting on tables or slaving over a hot fire for hours? I am not sure how such jobs acquired a stigma here, but the years of plenty could have led people to associate serving with foreigners from developing countries.
The recession is one time to learn a thing or two from the hardy spirit of these foreign workers.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Don't shoot the cook from China - do his job
By Clarissa Oon, Senior Political Correspondent
14 February 2009
Straits Times
'PHANTOM workers' popped up in Parliament yesterday, the phrase referring to the false declaration of Singaporean employees so an errant coffee-shop boss can qualify to hire foreigners.
But it could also be an ironic metaphor for the much diminished presence now of local service staff in two of the most quintessentially Singaporean institutions: the kopitiam and the hawker centre.
The subject came up as several members of the House pressed the Manpower Ministry to review its liberal foreign worker policy during the downturn, what with growing unemployment and the need to create jobs for Singaporeans.
In particular, they highlighted two areas - one of which was unskilled or semi-skilled labour in heartland eateries - where foreign worker recruitment could be tightened and some jobs diverted to Singaporeans.
The other category is that of mid-level skilled workers, such as technicians. Foreigners in this category come to Singapore to work on an S-Pass, which requires a minimum salary of $1,800.
With retrenchments rising among Singaporean executives and technicians, Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) asked whether the ministry had plans to tweak the current quota for S-Pass holders, who can comprise up to 25 per cent of a company's total workforce.
In reply, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said he is tightening the criteria for S-Pass holders, who typically have diplomas or high-school qualifications. This is 'to ensure that (the) workers who come to Singapore are of a certain skill that we need, of a certain qualification that we are looking for'.
What about service jobs at food and beverage outlets in HDB estates? Some of what is currently performed by China workers could also be done by elderly Singaporeans and middle-aged housewives looking for work near their homes, said Mr Ong Ah Heng (Nee Soon Central).
The requisite ratio of local to foreign employees for these small shops is six to one, but a shop owner with no foreigners on his payroll had sounded out Mr Ong, saying many of his counterparts got their foreign workers by faking the presence of local staff.
'He told me: 'Where can you find a coffee shop with as many as six local workers? The numbers are just for show and the authorities just close one eye,'' said Mr Ong in Mandarin.
Mr Gan was quick to assure him that his ministry has stepped up enforcement action against such cases. It is currently investigating 33 cases of possible use of phantom workers.
One owner of an F&B outlet has been charged in court with declaring phantom workers in work-permit applications.
The minister did not comment on Mr Ong's broader point: the intractable problem of persuading kopitiam owners to hire locals instead.
While many Singaporeans have mixed feelings about their hawker centres and foodcourts being staffed by workers from China, the fact is bosses like these workers because they are younger, cheaper to hire than locals and willing to work longer hours.
But are the latter really that much cheaper? Actually, as Mr Ong pointed out, the salaries of Singaporean and China hires even out once you add in the foreign worker levy and, in most cases, lodging for the worker, both of which are paid for by the employer. The monthly rental of a room is around $200 to $250.
A Straits Times feature last year on the local-foreign divide at Geylang coffee shops found that a Singaporean worker earns between $1,100 and $1,300 a month for a nine-hour workday.
China workers will do a 12-hour daily shift for around $900 a month, but bosses have to fork out a monthly levy of $150 and up.
The main difference, according to coffee-shop owners, is the work attitude.
'A local worker may not come to work if she doesn't feel like it. With a foreigner, because of her work permit, you don't have to worry that she won't come tomorrow,' the chairman of one association of coffee-shop merchants told this newspaper.
Given that coffee shops and hawker stalls have bottom lines too, one way forward is for the Manpower Ministry to give them incentives to hire locals.
Unfortunately, the Government's Jobs Credit scheme, which subsidises an employer's cost of hiring a Singaporean or resident, does not apply in this case because such shops typically employ short-term contract or even temporary workers who do not pay CPF.
The other hurdle is the average Singaporean's antipathy towards service jobs in general.
Sure, Singaporeans complain routinely about being served by China workers who cannot speak English, or about how their laksa is now made by a cook from Shandong province and no longer tastes the same.
But will low-income Singaporeans take - and stick with - jobs that involve waiting on tables or slaving over a hot fire for hours? I am not sure how such jobs acquired a stigma here, but the years of plenty could have led people to associate serving with foreigners from developing countries.
The recession is one time to learn a thing or two from the hardy spirit of these foreign workers.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Migrant Workers Centre to open in April
The following article appeared in the Straits Times on 14 Feb 09.
More help for abused foreign workers
By Lee Siew Hua
14 February 2009
Straits Times
FOR the rising number of foreign workers stranded here without jobs in this downturn, more help is on the way.
A Migrant Workers Centre will be ready in April to boost social support for them and to push for good practices by their bosses, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Manpower) Hawazi Daipi said yesterday.
The centre will be guided by the Migrant Workers Forum, an enterprise shaped by the labour movement and bosses: the National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation.
'The Forum will take an active role in providing humanitarian assistance so that workers are not left stranded with no food or shelter,' Mr Hawazi said, adding that his ministry fully supported the fresh plans.
These plans include a hotline for foreign workers to get advice and help. There will be basic training in English and social activities to help these workers live in harmony with citizens.
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Aljunied GRC) and Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) were among vocal MPs who asked the ministry for more protection of migrant workers who may face harsher abuse in this recession.
Said Mr Yeo, who chairs the Migrant Workers Forum: 'The Ministry of Manpower has to ensure that employers would not send workers home before their salary or accident disputes can come to light or be settled.'
Also pushing this theme of enforcement, other MPs flagged ideas like specifying the recruitment fees levied by agents.
For Ms Phua, it made sense to 'dictate the range of fees' that recruiters charge as this will shrink the hefty loan borne by a foreign worker who comes to work here. Taiwan has crafted legislation on this matter, she said.
'Permit only authorised good-quality recruitment companies to recruit labour from abroad on behalf of local companies,' she added.
Dr Ahmad Magad (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Nominated MP Eunice Olsen both sought stiffer penalties for errant employers.
Now, employers who fail to pay workers can be fined up to $5,000 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months, or both. Those who fail to upkeep and maintain their foreign labour can be fined up to $5,000 per worker.
Bigger penalties will send a strong signal that bosses must be responsible, Dr Ahmad said.
Mr Hawazi, in his responses, said the ministry tackles the basic rights of foreign workers on three fronts: education, enforcement and social support.
For instance, it is stepping up inspections of the dormitories of foreign workers. This is to check that they live in acceptable conditions, and are not owed salaries.
Last year, the ministry checked about 800 premises for acceptable conditions.
The ministry also raised awareness on basic labour rights and sources of help. Waving a handbook, Mr Hawazi said it was distributed to new workers in their native languages.
He also reassured the MPs about workers who have disputes with employers in the downturn: 'The Government does not send foreign workers home before their cases are resolved.'
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
More help for abused foreign workers
By Lee Siew Hua
14 February 2009
Straits Times
FOR the rising number of foreign workers stranded here without jobs in this downturn, more help is on the way.
A Migrant Workers Centre will be ready in April to boost social support for them and to push for good practices by their bosses, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Manpower) Hawazi Daipi said yesterday.
The centre will be guided by the Migrant Workers Forum, an enterprise shaped by the labour movement and bosses: the National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation.
'The Forum will take an active role in providing humanitarian assistance so that workers are not left stranded with no food or shelter,' Mr Hawazi said, adding that his ministry fully supported the fresh plans.
These plans include a hotline for foreign workers to get advice and help. There will be basic training in English and social activities to help these workers live in harmony with citizens.
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Aljunied GRC) and Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) were among vocal MPs who asked the ministry for more protection of migrant workers who may face harsher abuse in this recession.
Said Mr Yeo, who chairs the Migrant Workers Forum: 'The Ministry of Manpower has to ensure that employers would not send workers home before their salary or accident disputes can come to light or be settled.'
Also pushing this theme of enforcement, other MPs flagged ideas like specifying the recruitment fees levied by agents.
For Ms Phua, it made sense to 'dictate the range of fees' that recruiters charge as this will shrink the hefty loan borne by a foreign worker who comes to work here. Taiwan has crafted legislation on this matter, she said.
'Permit only authorised good-quality recruitment companies to recruit labour from abroad on behalf of local companies,' she added.
Dr Ahmad Magad (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Nominated MP Eunice Olsen both sought stiffer penalties for errant employers.
Now, employers who fail to pay workers can be fined up to $5,000 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months, or both. Those who fail to upkeep and maintain their foreign labour can be fined up to $5,000 per worker.
Bigger penalties will send a strong signal that bosses must be responsible, Dr Ahmad said.
Mr Hawazi, in his responses, said the ministry tackles the basic rights of foreign workers on three fronts: education, enforcement and social support.
For instance, it is stepping up inspections of the dormitories of foreign workers. This is to check that they live in acceptable conditions, and are not owed salaries.
Last year, the ministry checked about 800 premises for acceptable conditions.
The ministry also raised awareness on basic labour rights and sources of help. Waving a handbook, Mr Hawazi said it was distributed to new workers in their native languages.
He also reassured the MPs about workers who have disputes with employers in the downturn: 'The Government does not send foreign workers home before their cases are resolved.'
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Death-fall maid's employer fined
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 14 Feb 2009.
Death-fall maid's employer fined
By Elena Chong
14 February 2009
Straits Times
His conviction is the first related to a domestic helper who died at work
A BUSINESSMAN whose maid fell to her death while cleaning the windows of his flat has been fined the maximum of $5,000 for not ensuring her safety while at work.
Selvam Packirisamy, 39, is the first employer to be prosecuted under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, in a case in which the maid died.
Earlier this month, he was found guilty of failing to ensure that Ms Mariyappan Revathi, 23, performed her window-cleaning chores in a manner which did not endanger her life.
Ms Mariyappan fell from the third floor of a block of flats in Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3 on Feb 1, 2007.
Ministry of Manpower prosecutor R. Manoj had told the court that as a first-time employer, Selvam had attended and completed a compulsory employer's orientation programme before applying for Ms Revathi's work permit.
But Selvam, who runs an Internet cafe and a restaurant, 'left the control, management and supervision of Revathi to his wife and did not take any interest in her safety', said the prosecutor.
He noted that Selvam was not as blameworthy as someone who had either instructed the maid or knew that another family member had directed the maid to work in a manner which endangered her life.
But Mr Manoj said the court must consider the public interest in preventing similar tragedies from happening in future.
'It is in the public interest to ensure that employers protect the well-being and safety of their domestic helpers,' he said, adding that the employer bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring a maid's safety.
Mr Manoj said there was no evidence that Selvam actually knew that his wife had told the maid to clean windows in a dangerous manner.
District Judge Jasbendar Kaur said it was necessary to pass an appropriate sentence to send a correct signal to employers who made no effort to ensure their maids' well-being and safety that they would not be dealt with lightly by the courts.
Selvam's lawyer, Mr Thangavelu, said his client was deeply saddened by the episode. Selvam had made arrangements for her funeral in Singapore, helped her family receive about $10,000 from the insurance claim, and gave 50,000 rupees (S$1,500) to the family out of goodwill and compassion.
After paying the fine, Selvam told The Straits Times that it was the first time he had employed a maid, who was hand-picked by his brother in India.
He described Ms Revathi as a good worker, and said that the tragedy happened less than a month into her job.
A Manpower Ministry spokesman said the ministry believes that the key to improving domestic workplace safety is to educate maids and their employers on the potential hazards of working in a high-rise urban environment.
Strict enforcement action will be taken against employers who endanger their maids in the course of work.
Last year, five maids died in workplace accidents due to falls from height.
So far, eight people convicted of putting their maids' lives at risk in non-fatal cases have been fined between $2,000 and $5,000.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Death-fall maid's employer fined
By Elena Chong
14 February 2009
Straits Times
His conviction is the first related to a domestic helper who died at work
A BUSINESSMAN whose maid fell to her death while cleaning the windows of his flat has been fined the maximum of $5,000 for not ensuring her safety while at work.
Selvam Packirisamy, 39, is the first employer to be prosecuted under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, in a case in which the maid died.
Earlier this month, he was found guilty of failing to ensure that Ms Mariyappan Revathi, 23, performed her window-cleaning chores in a manner which did not endanger her life.
Ms Mariyappan fell from the third floor of a block of flats in Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3 on Feb 1, 2007.
Ministry of Manpower prosecutor R. Manoj had told the court that as a first-time employer, Selvam had attended and completed a compulsory employer's orientation programme before applying for Ms Revathi's work permit.
But Selvam, who runs an Internet cafe and a restaurant, 'left the control, management and supervision of Revathi to his wife and did not take any interest in her safety', said the prosecutor.
He noted that Selvam was not as blameworthy as someone who had either instructed the maid or knew that another family member had directed the maid to work in a manner which endangered her life.
But Mr Manoj said the court must consider the public interest in preventing similar tragedies from happening in future.
'It is in the public interest to ensure that employers protect the well-being and safety of their domestic helpers,' he said, adding that the employer bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring a maid's safety.
Mr Manoj said there was no evidence that Selvam actually knew that his wife had told the maid to clean windows in a dangerous manner.
District Judge Jasbendar Kaur said it was necessary to pass an appropriate sentence to send a correct signal to employers who made no effort to ensure their maids' well-being and safety that they would not be dealt with lightly by the courts.
Selvam's lawyer, Mr Thangavelu, said his client was deeply saddened by the episode. Selvam had made arrangements for her funeral in Singapore, helped her family receive about $10,000 from the insurance claim, and gave 50,000 rupees (S$1,500) to the family out of goodwill and compassion.
After paying the fine, Selvam told The Straits Times that it was the first time he had employed a maid, who was hand-picked by his brother in India.
He described Ms Revathi as a good worker, and said that the tragedy happened less than a month into her job.
A Manpower Ministry spokesman said the ministry believes that the key to improving domestic workplace safety is to educate maids and their employers on the potential hazards of working in a high-rise urban environment.
Strict enforcement action will be taken against employers who endanger their maids in the course of work.
Last year, five maids died in workplace accidents due to falls from height.
So far, eight people convicted of putting their maids' lives at risk in non-fatal cases have been fined between $2,000 and $5,000.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Trafficked woman escapes from Geylang brothel
Photo caption: DUPED: Rani, 27, was promised maid's job, but wound up in a brothel.
The following article first published in The New Paper on Feb 9, 2009 and reproduced on Asia One's website on 11 Feb 09.
Escape from Geylang brothel
One Singaporean housewife went to great lengths to look for woman who says she was held against her will in Geylang, and even took the troubled Indian national into her own home. -TNP
Wed, Feb 11, 2009
The New Paper
By Vivien Chan
HOW far would you go to help a woman who says she is being kept against her will in a Singapore brothel?
One Singaporean housewife kept in touch by phone, went to look for her in Geylang, and took the troubled Indian national into her own home.
The drama, which stretched over two days, included a number of furtive phone calls made by the captive woman, Rani (not her real name), a string of men who were not much help, and one who finally arranged a night escape in a taxi - and then exacted a heavy price for it.
None of those involved are being identified by their real names, in order to protect both the victim and her saviour.
The latter, Madam Mary, who is in her 30s, told us the story. Rani declined to be interviewed.
Rani, 27, arrived in Singapore on 25 Jan, said Madam Mary. She had travelled here with Neela, a woman from her home town who has worked in Singapore for more than 10 years.
A few months ago, when Neela was in India, the two had met there.
Neela offered Rani a job as a maid in Singapore, paying 10,000 rupees ($310) a month.
As Rani's sister is also a maid here, Rani thought the deal was good, and agreed, hoping to use the money to pay for her daughter's marriage some day.
Rani has three young children, but is separated from her husband in India.
She did not tell anyone about coming to work in Singapore because Neela had told her that her prospective employer would not like it.
Neela allegedly paid for and arranged Rani's flight and visa .
But almost immediately after the plane landed in Singapore, Neela told Rani what she had really been brought here for - to be a prostitute.
She also learnt that Neela had been a prostitute all along, and not a maid, as she had thought.
They were met at Changi airport by Neela's boyfriend, who drove them to a house in Geylang.
On the way there, Rani is said to have repeatedly told Neela to take her back to India.
Threatened
At the house, Neela and her boyfriend allegedly threatened to beat her if she did not obey them.
The next day, they made her stand outside the house, but within the compound, to get customers.
She was not to leave, but was asked to use a room in the house.
It was not clear how, but Rani managed to make one phone call to her sister, who had gone back to India on leave.
After hearing of Rani's predicament, her sister gave her the number of her Singaporean employer's friend, Madam Mary.
Rani's sister in India then called Madam Mary, to tell her about Rani's distress call and pleaded with her to help.
But there was nothing much Madam Mary could do then except wait by the phone.
Around 4pm that day, she got a call from a man who said he was with a woman named Rani.
The man said they were on the second storey of a double-storey house on Geylang Lorong 24.
He said he had been walking by the house when Rani, who was standing outside, grabbed his hand and pleaded with him to let her to use his handphone.
Before Madam Mary could ask more, the phone line went dead.
At around 7pm, another man called. He asked Madam Mary if she was Rani's employer, and said Rani wanted her help.
Said Madam Mary: "I told him to call 999, but he said he dared not use his phone to dial 999. He asked me to go to the house if I wanted to help her."
The man then ended the call.
Three hours later, at 10pm, a third man called. He said Rani was crying outside the house and was wearing a white sari with black dots.
He passed the phone to Rani. Madam Mary said she asked Rani why the phone call from the first man was cut off abruptly.
Rani told her that the first man was caught by the "prostitution leader", who threw his phone away and beat him up.
Madam Mary said the third man was also too afraid to help.
She decided there was nothing much she could do then, and went to sleep.
The next morning, she made a police report. And that afternoon, she said, she got a friend to drive her to Geylang Lorong 24.
"Sure enough, I saw this Indian woman in a white sari with black dots standing outside a house, crying," she said.
But she did not stop or approach the woman because she was afraid of the "gangsters".
That night, around 11pm, a fourth man, who introduced himself as Appu, called her.
Appu said he was passing by the house when Rani pulled him in, crying for help. And this man, finally, was ready to help.
Madam Mary told him to try his best to get Rani out of the house and into a taxi.
She told Appu to give her telephone number to the taxi driver. She also told him to be discreet and try to avoid trouble.
At 2.30am, Appu called again.
According to Madam Mary, he said he was trying his best to help Rani, but was having difficulty because the area was "surrounded by prostitution leaders".
At 4.35am, Madam Mary received a call from a taxi driver.
The cabby said he had a passenger by the name of Rani.
Madam Mary said she checked with the cabby if Rani was alone, before directing him to drive to herhome.
The taxi arrived about 45 minutes later.
Madam Mary, who lives with her husband and children, said she paid the taxi fare and let Rani into her home.
After taking a shower, Rani rested.
Later that morning, she told Madam Mary the whole story.
And that was when Madam Mary found out that Appu was not really the rare gentleman willing to help a woman in distress.
It turned out that Appu had managed to take Rani out of the Geylang house, only to check into a hotel nearby. He then allegedly asked Rani for sex in return for his help.
Rani told Madam Mary that she felt that she had no choice and agreed, as she did not want to return to the Geylang house.
She said she did not have sex with any of the other men.
Madam Mary said: "Rani also told me that there are close to 40 prostitutes from India and Bangladesh in that house, and about five are being held against their will."
When Madam Mary asked why Rani did not approach the police who patrolled the area, Rani said she had not seen any police cars stop, to give her a chance to run out to them.
Now, Madam Mary is worried. She claimed she heard from Rani's sister, who is still in India, that Neela was there, offering a reward of 100,000 rupees for information about Rani.
Said Madam Mary: "I don't know how to help Rani now. I am worried for my family and myself."
She said Rani was scared to go back to India, though she had her passport with her. She was also scared to stay on in Singapore.
A police spokesman declined comment as investigations are on, but noted that there was no indication at this point of any syndicate being involved.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Feb 9, 2009.
http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/The%2BNew%2BPaper/Story/A1Story20090210-120902.html
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Trafficked women forced into prostitution
The following article was posted on Asia One on 9 Feb 09.
They came here to sing, but some forced to be prostitutes
She had come to Singapore to earn a living as a lounge singer, or so she thought. Instead she was faced with threats of prostitution and violent beatings. -AsiaOne
Mon, Feb 09, 2009
AsiaOne
She had come to Singapore with hopes of earning a living as a lounge singer, but was instead faced with threats of prostitution and violent beatings.
This was the experience of Mary (not her real name), 24, a Chinese national.
According to the Shin Min Daily News, Mary had arrived in Singapore on Jan 12 this year, and started work the next day at a lounge in Geylang.
However, business was poor and the lounge remained almost empty every single night, she said.
No choice but to be prostitutes
According to Mary, all the female singers employed by the lounge were forced to sing every night, even when there were no customers.
Not only were they forced to sing, they had to pay a $40 fee every night to do so. Only tips given by customers were theirs to keep, but usually there were none.
The boss threatened that those who did not pay up would be forced to prostitute themselves in Geylang.
Those who did not turn up for work were fined $600.
Under his threats, the other girls complied, but Mary adamantly refused.
She said: "With no income and still having to pay the $40 every night, some of us had no choice but to prostitute ourselves after work".
Captured and beaten
She told the Chinese daily that on the night of Jan 22, her boss demanded from her the money that she owed. Lying, she said that she would pay him the next day. Instead, she and her friend, a fellow singer at the lounge, decided to run away.
They then rented an apartment in Geylang. However, while out in the area on Feb 1, her friend was spotted by the boss and caught. Mary ended up being captured as well.
She said: "We called the police immediately". When the police arrived, the two of them were brought to the police station. They were released "on bail" after two days.
To their dismay, their boss was waiting for them outside the station. He claimed he was the one who helped them get out.
Immediately, he demanded money from them. She eventually handed over $400, while her friend gave him $600.
Five days later, Mary requested to be allowed to return to China. However, he refused and gave her a beating instead. The violent attack left her with a cut on her ear and bruises around her eyes.
According to Mary, he slapped her twice, pulled her hair and punched her. He also threw her onto the floor before stepping and kicking her.
She told reporters: "My left ear was bleeding and my eyes and back are bruised. I can't move my neck, and my head still hurts when touched."
Police report to "warn others"
After suffering the violent beating, Mary claims he took from her S$600 and 500 yuan (S$110).
Thereafter, he had a change of heart and allowed her to return to her country, even driving her to the airport.
Still bruised and battered, she called the police immediately after going through the immigration checkpoint. She was taken to the hospital for a medical examination.
Mary says she called the police as she hopes her case will serve as a warning to others not to be taken in so easily. When interviewed by Shin Min Daily, the spokesperson for the Police said they were still investigating the matter.
LINK:http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20090209-120670.html
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