The following article was published in the Straits Times on 29 Sep 2009.
11 errant employment agencies ordered closed
By Serene Luo
29 September 2009
Straits Times
They broke work permit rules and collaborated with unlicensed agencies
ELEVEN employment agencies have been ordered to close shop by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) this year, the largest number to date.
They had breached various employment laws.
Seven were accredited - a requirement for renewing licences beyond the first year - while four were not.
Of the seven, six were accredited by the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore (AEAS) and one by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).
Last year, seven agencies had their licences revoked, and four each in the previous two years.
The licensees and directors of these agencies will be barred from getting another agency licence, or holding key positions at other employment agencies.
They will also lose their security deposits of $10,000 to $20,000.
The crackdown is a result of MOM's 'stepped up investigation', a statement said.
One employment agency had applied for a work permit for a foreign domestic worker when it knew she would be working in a dessert shop, and not in a home.
Another put a maid to work without a valid work permit, while others collaborated with unlicensed agencies to bring in foreign labour.
For instance, Golden Employment Agency, which operated from Furama Hotel, and Josco International, in Orchard Towers, both submitted work permit applications on behalf of an unlicensed agent and received kickbacks of $50 to $100 each time.
The two agencies had their licences revoked in July and August, and were fined.
Working with unlicensed operators could have an adverse impact on the welfare of the foreign workers, said the divisional director of the MOM's foreign manpower management division, Mr Aw Kum Cheong.
Foreign workers could be left without recourse if their unlicensed agents disappeared, a ministry spokesman elaborated.
'Foreign workers recruited by such unlicensed employment agencies may also end up working illegally,' Mr Aw said.
And licensed agencies which work with unlicensed operators are helping them break the law, he warned.
He reminded agencies 'not to risk their licences for the sake of ill-gotten benefits'.
Case also warned agency owners to ensure that their staff are properly trained and briefed on the law, as one agency had lost its licence because of breaches by staff and not the owners.
Ms Shirley Ng, the president of AEAS, said moves should be taken to find any black sheep.
'It's a good thing for the industry that MOM is taking a more involved policing role,' she said.
The MOM recently prosecuted employers who took kickbacks for hiring foreign workers. Two weeks ago, an employer was the first to be convicted and fined $5,000.
Shut down
Smart Employment Agency
Goodlink Employment Agency
AB Employment Services
HR Evergreen Pte Ltd
Josco International (S) Pte Ltd
Sroya & Sroya Management Resources
Golden Employment Agency
CYG Management Services
GlobalOneSg Pte Ltd
Global Pacific Manpower Consultancy
Workforce International Pte Ltd
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
More employment agencies lose licence
The following article was published in TODAY on 29 Sep 2009.
More lose licences ; Manpower Ministry closes down 11 following stepped-up investigations
29 September 2009
TODAY (Singapore)
THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has revoked the licences of 11 employment agencies this year — the highest number of licences revoked in the last three years.
Apart from losing their licences, the agencies were also fined varying sums and had their security deposits forfeited. Accredited agencies forfeit $10,000 and non-accredited ones $20,000.
In addition, the directors cannot hold employment agency licences and office appointments in other agencies for varying durations depending on the severity of infringement committed.
The heaviest fine was levied on Smart Employment Agency.
Its licensee, Sangeetha Rai, was fined $4,000 for falsely declaring in a work permit application that one foreign domestic worker (FDW) would be under her employment, when this was untrue.
She was also fined $10,350 for helping in the illegal employment of the same FDW.
In addition, Rai was fined $5,000 for her part in helping an employer to falsely declare that he would be the employer of one FDW when this was not true.
The latest figures are the results of the ministry’s stepped-up investigations. There were seven revocations last year and four each in 2007 and 2006.
Mr Aw Kum Cheong, Divisional Director of the Foreign Manpower Management Division in the ministry, cautioned licensed employment agencies who collude with unlicensed agencies not to risk their licences.
“The activities of unlicensed agencies compromise the welfare of foreign workers brought in. Foreign workers recruited by such unlicensed agencies could also end up working illegally,” he said.
Most of the errant agencies infringed the Employment Agencies Act or the Employment of Foreign Manpower (EFMA) Act by helping unlicensed agencies to submit work permit applications and abetting the illegal deployment of foreign domestic workers.
Employers can make sure that an employment agency is licensed before engaging its services through the ministry’s website (www.mom.gov.sg), where a list of licensed employment agencies as well as other important regulatory information can be found.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
More lose licences ; Manpower Ministry closes down 11 following stepped-up investigations
29 September 2009
TODAY (Singapore)
THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has revoked the licences of 11 employment agencies this year — the highest number of licences revoked in the last three years.
Apart from losing their licences, the agencies were also fined varying sums and had their security deposits forfeited. Accredited agencies forfeit $10,000 and non-accredited ones $20,000.
In addition, the directors cannot hold employment agency licences and office appointments in other agencies for varying durations depending on the severity of infringement committed.
The heaviest fine was levied on Smart Employment Agency.
Its licensee, Sangeetha Rai, was fined $4,000 for falsely declaring in a work permit application that one foreign domestic worker (FDW) would be under her employment, when this was untrue.
She was also fined $10,350 for helping in the illegal employment of the same FDW.
In addition, Rai was fined $5,000 for her part in helping an employer to falsely declare that he would be the employer of one FDW when this was not true.
The latest figures are the results of the ministry’s stepped-up investigations. There were seven revocations last year and four each in 2007 and 2006.
Mr Aw Kum Cheong, Divisional Director of the Foreign Manpower Management Division in the ministry, cautioned licensed employment agencies who collude with unlicensed agencies not to risk their licences.
“The activities of unlicensed agencies compromise the welfare of foreign workers brought in. Foreign workers recruited by such unlicensed agencies could also end up working illegally,” he said.
Most of the errant agencies infringed the Employment Agencies Act or the Employment of Foreign Manpower (EFMA) Act by helping unlicensed agencies to submit work permit applications and abetting the illegal deployment of foreign domestic workers.
Employers can make sure that an employment agency is licensed before engaging its services through the ministry’s website (www.mom.gov.sg), where a list of licensed employment agencies as well as other important regulatory information can be found.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Temporary foreign workers' dorm in Serangoon to open in Nov
The following article was published by Channel NewsAsia on 26 Sep 2009.
Temporary foreign workers' dorm in Serangoon to open in Nov
26 September 2009
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: The temporary foreign workers' dormitory in Serangoon Gardens is expected to open in November this year.
Second Finance Minister Lim Hwee Hua, who is also the Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, was speaking to reporters at a community event in the area on Saturday.
The temporary foreign workers' dormitory is located at Burghley Drive. Residents in the area had raised concerns about the dorm's location.
The National Development Ministry had agreed to suggestions put forth by residents over the building of the dorm, such as restricting mass activities after 10.30pm, putting plants to screen the site from nearest homes, and locating pick-up and drop-off points within the site.
But the government did not agree to construct a direct ramp linking the dormitory to the Central Expressway due to safety reasons.
Mrs Lim, who was recently given a site tour by the operator, said the residents' committee will continue to work with government agencies on some of the outstanding issues.
But she added that the true test will come when the dormitory starts operations.
- CNA/so
(c) 2009 MediaCorp News Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Temporary foreign workers' dorm in Serangoon to open in Nov
26 September 2009
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: The temporary foreign workers' dormitory in Serangoon Gardens is expected to open in November this year.
Second Finance Minister Lim Hwee Hua, who is also the Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, was speaking to reporters at a community event in the area on Saturday.
The temporary foreign workers' dormitory is located at Burghley Drive. Residents in the area had raised concerns about the dorm's location.
The National Development Ministry had agreed to suggestions put forth by residents over the building of the dorm, such as restricting mass activities after 10.30pm, putting plants to screen the site from nearest homes, and locating pick-up and drop-off points within the site.
But the government did not agree to construct a direct ramp linking the dormitory to the Central Expressway due to safety reasons.
Mrs Lim, who was recently given a site tour by the operator, said the residents' committee will continue to work with government agencies on some of the outstanding issues.
But she added that the true test will come when the dormitory starts operations.
- CNA/so
(c) 2009 MediaCorp News Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Insurance for foreign workers to be raised
The following article was published in The Business Times on 26 August 2009.
Insurance for foreign workers to be raised
By TEH SHI NING
The Business Times
26/09/2009
MOM's move aimed at reducing employers' exposure to big hospital bills; security bond conditions also revised
tshining@sph.com.sg
THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday announced changes to the medical insurance requirements and security bond conditions that employers of foreign workers must meet.
The minimum medical insurance coverage employers of foreign work permit holders, including domestic workers, must purchase will triple from $5,000 to $15,000, from Jan 1 next year.
This move aims to reduce employers' exposure to large hospital bills, and comes in response to feedback from hospitals and the Ministry of Health that the current minimum coverage was no longer adequate.
The possibility of such a change was first raised in March by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who cited several cases of employers having to fork out huge sums to pay for their maids' medical expenses.
While the previous minimum medical insurance coverage of $5,000, made mandatory in 2008, covered nine in 10 foreign workers' medical bills, the new $15,000 minimum is expected to cover up to 98 per cent of cases.
Insurers told BT that it was too early to given an indication of the additional premium that employers would have to fork out to meet the new requirement. NTUC Income said that it would enhance its current insurance plans for foreign workers to reflect MOM's changes, "with a view to keeping their benefits and rates competitive", and would announce details before January.
Under its current schemes, Great Eastern's insurance plans allow for employers of maids to opt for an additional $10,000 in coverage by paying a top-up premium of $100. Premiums on plans for maids range from $180 to $255 for a 26-month period, while under its group insurance scheme, foreign workers' annual insurance premiums range from $50 to $100 per worker.
At present, there are 870,000 work permit and S-pass holders in Singapore, including 190,000 domestic workers. Of these foreign workers, 230,000 are in the construction industry.
This move will raise business costs, said Simon Lee, executive director of the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd, which represents over 200 construction firms. Though the increase would not be a substantial percentage of overall labour costs, the extra cost would have to be paid upfront and could rise further should there be a claim against the policy, he said.
Yesterday, MOM also revised conditions tied to the $5,000 security bond which employers are required to furnish for all non-Malaysian work permit holders hired, including domestic help.
Prompt payment of salaries has been included as a new security bond condition, to address the issue of salary arrears. MOM handled complaints relating to unpaid salaries from 4,500 foreign workers in the first half of 2009 – a 40 per cent jump from the second half of 2008.
Other conditions have also been revised to remove the employers' liability in situations which are out of their control. Should workers themselves violate work permit conditions – such as those relating to marriage to a resident, or pregnancy – employers will no longer be penalised as long as they inform employees of the terms and report any breach they know of to the authorities.
Also, if a worker absconds, the employer will forfeit half the $5,000 security bond instead of the full amount, as long as reasonable effort is made to locate the missing worker.
Insurance for foreign workers to be raised
By TEH SHI NING
The Business Times
26/09/2009
MOM's move aimed at reducing employers' exposure to big hospital bills; security bond conditions also revised
tshining@sph.com.sg
THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday announced changes to the medical insurance requirements and security bond conditions that employers of foreign workers must meet.
The minimum medical insurance coverage employers of foreign work permit holders, including domestic workers, must purchase will triple from $5,000 to $15,000, from Jan 1 next year.
This move aims to reduce employers' exposure to large hospital bills, and comes in response to feedback from hospitals and the Ministry of Health that the current minimum coverage was no longer adequate.
The possibility of such a change was first raised in March by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who cited several cases of employers having to fork out huge sums to pay for their maids' medical expenses.
While the previous minimum medical insurance coverage of $5,000, made mandatory in 2008, covered nine in 10 foreign workers' medical bills, the new $15,000 minimum is expected to cover up to 98 per cent of cases.
Insurers told BT that it was too early to given an indication of the additional premium that employers would have to fork out to meet the new requirement. NTUC Income said that it would enhance its current insurance plans for foreign workers to reflect MOM's changes, "with a view to keeping their benefits and rates competitive", and would announce details before January.
Under its current schemes, Great Eastern's insurance plans allow for employers of maids to opt for an additional $10,000 in coverage by paying a top-up premium of $100. Premiums on plans for maids range from $180 to $255 for a 26-month period, while under its group insurance scheme, foreign workers' annual insurance premiums range from $50 to $100 per worker.
At present, there are 870,000 work permit and S-pass holders in Singapore, including 190,000 domestic workers. Of these foreign workers, 230,000 are in the construction industry.
This move will raise business costs, said Simon Lee, executive director of the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd, which represents over 200 construction firms. Though the increase would not be a substantial percentage of overall labour costs, the extra cost would have to be paid upfront and could rise further should there be a claim against the policy, he said.
Yesterday, MOM also revised conditions tied to the $5,000 security bond which employers are required to furnish for all non-Malaysian work permit holders hired, including domestic help.
Prompt payment of salaries has been included as a new security bond condition, to address the issue of salary arrears. MOM handled complaints relating to unpaid salaries from 4,500 foreign workers in the first half of 2009 – a 40 per cent jump from the second half of 2008.
Other conditions have also been revised to remove the employers' liability in situations which are out of their control. Should workers themselves violate work permit conditions – such as those relating to marriage to a resident, or pregnancy – employers will no longer be penalised as long as they inform employees of the terms and report any breach they know of to the authorities.
Also, if a worker absconds, the employer will forfeit half the $5,000 security bond instead of the full amount, as long as reasonable effort is made to locate the missing worker.
Higher Medical Insurance Coverage: Costs worry bosses; workers happy
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 26 Sep 2009.
Costs worry bosses; workers happy
Nicholas Yong
26 September 2009
Straits Times
FORMER construction worker Wang Xiao Yong, 30, is pleased about new rules requiring employers to take out higher medical insurance coverage for their workers.
'Increased medical coverage gives workers a guarantee, so they don't need to worry about doctor's fees,' said Mr Wang, a China national who has stopped working because of injury.
From Jan 1, foreign workers like Mr Wang will get greater protection, not only against medical costs, but also defaults on salary payments.
Employers will have to increase their foreign workers' minimum medical insurance coverage threefold to $15,000. And if they do not pay workers on time, they are liable to forfeit their $5,000 security bonds, besides facing fines and possible jail time.
Of the 870,000 foreign workers and foreign domestic workers here, about 230,000 are construction workers.
Construction companies expressed concerns about potentially higher operational costs with the new rules.
Managing director of Lucky Joint Construction Yeow Kian Seng, noted that while the new policy was good for workers' welfare, it would likely cause insurance premiums to 'shoot up'. Operational costs would be affected, at least in the short term, for contracts recently awarded.
'When we are awarded a new contract, we employ more foreign workers, as we need a lot of manpower. The tender price is already fixed, so there is no way to claim extra costs for all these insurance premiums,' said Mr Yeow, whose company employs about 150 foreign workers.
But executive director of the Singapore Contractors' Association Simon Lee said that while business costs for contractors would go up, he was optimistic that the changes would be 'manageable'.
Tiong Seng Contractors, with more than 600 foreign workers on its payroll, said that premiums would vary according to different plans offered by insurance companies.
Its assistant human resource manager, Ms Cheryl Kok, also noted that the Manpower Ministry's criteria for employers showing due diligence when workers have absconded was 'very fair'.
Employers may lose just half of the security bonds they have to put up for each worker, if they show they have done enough to track down a worker who has run away.
Worker advocacy groups, such as the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), said that better medical insurance coverage for workers had come none too soon.
'I have seen many foreign workers whose medical bills go above $5,000, and some have only been here for a short period of time. The amount is simply too little and not consistent with the cost of living in Singapore,' said Home executive director Jolovan Wham.
Mr Wham has also seen cases in which employers refuse to foot the medical bill when it goes above $5,000. Such employers can be taken to court by the Manpower Ministry.
Other advocacy groups also welcomed better protection for workers' salaries.
Executive director of the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People Patrick Neo said it was reasonable to compel employers to pay their workers on time, and that monitoring to ensure compliance was crucial.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Costs worry bosses; workers happy
Nicholas Yong
26 September 2009
Straits Times
FORMER construction worker Wang Xiao Yong, 30, is pleased about new rules requiring employers to take out higher medical insurance coverage for their workers.
'Increased medical coverage gives workers a guarantee, so they don't need to worry about doctor's fees,' said Mr Wang, a China national who has stopped working because of injury.
From Jan 1, foreign workers like Mr Wang will get greater protection, not only against medical costs, but also defaults on salary payments.
Employers will have to increase their foreign workers' minimum medical insurance coverage threefold to $15,000. And if they do not pay workers on time, they are liable to forfeit their $5,000 security bonds, besides facing fines and possible jail time.
Of the 870,000 foreign workers and foreign domestic workers here, about 230,000 are construction workers.
Construction companies expressed concerns about potentially higher operational costs with the new rules.
Managing director of Lucky Joint Construction Yeow Kian Seng, noted that while the new policy was good for workers' welfare, it would likely cause insurance premiums to 'shoot up'. Operational costs would be affected, at least in the short term, for contracts recently awarded.
'When we are awarded a new contract, we employ more foreign workers, as we need a lot of manpower. The tender price is already fixed, so there is no way to claim extra costs for all these insurance premiums,' said Mr Yeow, whose company employs about 150 foreign workers.
But executive director of the Singapore Contractors' Association Simon Lee said that while business costs for contractors would go up, he was optimistic that the changes would be 'manageable'.
Tiong Seng Contractors, with more than 600 foreign workers on its payroll, said that premiums would vary according to different plans offered by insurance companies.
Its assistant human resource manager, Ms Cheryl Kok, also noted that the Manpower Ministry's criteria for employers showing due diligence when workers have absconded was 'very fair'.
Employers may lose just half of the security bonds they have to put up for each worker, if they show they have done enough to track down a worker who has run away.
Worker advocacy groups, such as the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), said that better medical insurance coverage for workers had come none too soon.
'I have seen many foreign workers whose medical bills go above $5,000, and some have only been here for a short period of time. The amount is simply too little and not consistent with the cost of living in Singapore,' said Home executive director Jolovan Wham.
Mr Wham has also seen cases in which employers refuse to foot the medical bill when it goes above $5,000. Such employers can be taken to court by the Manpower Ministry.
Other advocacy groups also welcomed better protection for workers' salaries.
Executive director of the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People Patrick Neo said it was reasonable to compel employers to pay their workers on time, and that monitoring to ensure compliance was crucial.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
New rules protect both maids and employers
The following article was published in The Straits Times on 26 August 2009.
New rules protect both maids and employers
By MARIA ALMENOAR
The Straits Times
26/09/2009
But bosses who are tardy with salaries risk losing $5,000 deposit
IN MARCH, a maid who was just two months into her job was found to have a serious blood platelet disorder. Her hospital bill ran to $50,000.
Another fell out of a window accidentally, injuring her spine and breaking a leg. She racked up $30,000 in medical expenses.
Their employers had to foot the bills, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), citing the two cases as reason why employers will need the higher medical insurance coverage they will have to take out for their maids from January.
New rules starting then will require employers of the 190,000 foreign maids in Singapore to get them minimum medical insurance coverage of $15,000 a year, up from $5,000 now.
Ms Shirley Ng, head of the Association of Employment Agencies, noted that employers whose maids do end up in hospital are faced on average with a bill of $10,000. But these make up only a small number overall.
She said the question on most employers' minds would be how much more they will have to fork out in insurance premiums, which are now about $190 for a 26-month period.
Insurance companies contacted said they were still working out what the increase would be.
From January, the ministry will also come down harder on errant employers who owe salaries to their maids. They risk losing their $5,000 security deposits if they do not pay their maids within a week of agreed salary payment dates.
But employers will also get a measure of protection themselves – against maids who run away.
If the ministry decides an employer has done enough to search for a runaway maid, he will lose only half of his $5,000 security bond, instead of the full amount.
Employers will be deemed to have done enough to find their maids if, for example, they have conducted checks with dormitory operators, embassies and employment agencies, and have reported the matter to MOM and the police. If a maid is found and repatriated by her employer in three months, MOM will consider returning the forfeited amount.
Worker welfare organisations said the new moves were a step forward in protecting the rights of maids.
They noted that raising medical coverage would likely reduce those instances of employers despatching sick maids home to avoid having to foot doctors' bills.
They also welcomed the greater penalties to employers for not paying their maids.
Said the president of foreign worker advocacy group Home, Ms Bridget Lew: "Forfeiting the $5,000 security bond is a signal to employers that salaries are the right of every worker, local or foreign."
Co-chairman of the Migrant Workers' Centre Yeo Guat Kwang suggested that part of the forfeited security bond be used to pay the arrears.
But groups were concerned about enforcement and how maids would be able to voice their problems.
Said the outreach manager for migrant worker advocacy group, Transient Workers Count Too, Ms Sha Najak: "If they are not allowed to use the phones, and cannot get out of the house to get help, their employers will never even face the harsher penalties."
As for the possibility of not losing their whole deposits when maids run away, employers like corporate trainer Germaine Ong, 56, said the move will not help. Ms Ong and many others do not front the security deposits themselves, but pay for insurance against it.
Ms Ong's maid ran away last month, and she will have to pay just $250 more to the insurance company, which forfeits the deposit.
New rules protect both maids and employers
By MARIA ALMENOAR
The Straits Times
26/09/2009
But bosses who are tardy with salaries risk losing $5,000 deposit
IN MARCH, a maid who was just two months into her job was found to have a serious blood platelet disorder. Her hospital bill ran to $50,000.
Another fell out of a window accidentally, injuring her spine and breaking a leg. She racked up $30,000 in medical expenses.
Their employers had to foot the bills, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), citing the two cases as reason why employers will need the higher medical insurance coverage they will have to take out for their maids from January.
New rules starting then will require employers of the 190,000 foreign maids in Singapore to get them minimum medical insurance coverage of $15,000 a year, up from $5,000 now.
Ms Shirley Ng, head of the Association of Employment Agencies, noted that employers whose maids do end up in hospital are faced on average with a bill of $10,000. But these make up only a small number overall.
She said the question on most employers' minds would be how much more they will have to fork out in insurance premiums, which are now about $190 for a 26-month period.
Insurance companies contacted said they were still working out what the increase would be.
From January, the ministry will also come down harder on errant employers who owe salaries to their maids. They risk losing their $5,000 security deposits if they do not pay their maids within a week of agreed salary payment dates.
But employers will also get a measure of protection themselves – against maids who run away.
If the ministry decides an employer has done enough to search for a runaway maid, he will lose only half of his $5,000 security bond, instead of the full amount.
Employers will be deemed to have done enough to find their maids if, for example, they have conducted checks with dormitory operators, embassies and employment agencies, and have reported the matter to MOM and the police. If a maid is found and repatriated by her employer in three months, MOM will consider returning the forfeited amount.
Worker welfare organisations said the new moves were a step forward in protecting the rights of maids.
They noted that raising medical coverage would likely reduce those instances of employers despatching sick maids home to avoid having to foot doctors' bills.
They also welcomed the greater penalties to employers for not paying their maids.
Said the president of foreign worker advocacy group Home, Ms Bridget Lew: "Forfeiting the $5,000 security bond is a signal to employers that salaries are the right of every worker, local or foreign."
Co-chairman of the Migrant Workers' Centre Yeo Guat Kwang suggested that part of the forfeited security bond be used to pay the arrears.
But groups were concerned about enforcement and how maids would be able to voice their problems.
Said the outreach manager for migrant worker advocacy group, Transient Workers Count Too, Ms Sha Najak: "If they are not allowed to use the phones, and cannot get out of the house to get help, their employers will never even face the harsher penalties."
As for the possibility of not losing their whole deposits when maids run away, employers like corporate trainer Germaine Ong, 56, said the move will not help. Ms Ong and many others do not front the security deposits themselves, but pay for insurance against it.
Ms Ong's maid ran away last month, and she will have to pay just $250 more to the insurance company, which forfeits the deposit.
Employers who fail to pay salaries on time may lose $5000 deposit
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 26 Sept 2009.
New rules protect both maids and employers
By Maria Almenoar
26 September 2009
Straits Times
But bosses who are tardy with salaries risk losing $5,000 deposit
IN MARCH, a maid who was just two months into her job was found to have a serious blood platelet disorder. Her hospital bill ran to $50,000.
Another fell out of a window accidentally, injuring her spine and breaking a leg. She racked up $30,000 in medical expenses.
Their employers had to foot the bills, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), citing the two cases as reason why employers will need the higher medical insurance coverage they will have to take out for their maids from January.
New rules starting then will require employers of the 190,000 foreign maids in Singapore to get them minimum medical insurance coverage of $15,000 a year, up from $5,000 now.
Ms Shirley Ng, head of the Association of Employment Agencies, noted that employers whose maids do end up in hospital are faced on average with a bill of $10,000. But these make up only a small number overall.
She said the question on most employers' minds would be how much more they will have to fork out in insurance premiums, which are now about $190 for a 26-month period.
Insurance companies contacted said they were still working out what the increase would be.
From January, the ministry will also come down harder on errant employers who owe salaries to their maids. They risk losing their $5,000 security deposits if they do not pay their maids within a week of agreed salary payment dates.
But employers will also get a measure of protection themselves - against maids who run away.
If the ministry decides an employer has done enough to search for a runaway maid, he will lose only half of his $5,000 security bond, instead of the full amount.
Employers will be deemed to have done enough to find their maids if, for example, they have conducted checks with dormitory operators, embassies and employment agencies, and have reported the matter to MOM and the police. If a maid is found and repatriated by her employer in three months, MOM will consider returning the forfeited amount.
Worker welfare organisations said the new moves were a step forward in protecting the rights of maids.
They noted that raising medical coverage would likely reduce those instances of employers despatching sick maids home to avoid having to foot doctors' bills.
They also welcomed the greater penalties to employers for not paying their maids.
Said the president of foreign worker advocacy group Home, Ms Bridget Lew: 'Forfeiting the $5,000 security bond is a signal to employers that salaries are the right of every worker, local or foreign.'
Co-chairman of the Migrant Workers' Centre Yeo Guat Kwang suggested that part of the forfeited security bond be used to pay the arrears.
But groups were concerned about enforcement and how maids would be able to voice their problems.
Said the outreach manager for migrant worker advocacy group, Transient Workers Count Too, Ms Sha Najak: 'If they are not allowed to use the phones, and cannot get out of the house to get help, their employers will never even face the harsher penalties.'
As for the possibility of not losing their whole deposits when maids run away, employers like corporate trainer Germaine Ong, 56, said the move will not help. Ms Ong and many others do not front the security deposits themselves, but pay for insurance against it.
Ms Ong's maid ran away last month, and she will have to pay just $250 more to the insurance company, which forfeits the deposit.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
New rules protect both maids and employers
By Maria Almenoar
26 September 2009
Straits Times
But bosses who are tardy with salaries risk losing $5,000 deposit
IN MARCH, a maid who was just two months into her job was found to have a serious blood platelet disorder. Her hospital bill ran to $50,000.
Another fell out of a window accidentally, injuring her spine and breaking a leg. She racked up $30,000 in medical expenses.
Their employers had to foot the bills, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), citing the two cases as reason why employers will need the higher medical insurance coverage they will have to take out for their maids from January.
New rules starting then will require employers of the 190,000 foreign maids in Singapore to get them minimum medical insurance coverage of $15,000 a year, up from $5,000 now.
Ms Shirley Ng, head of the Association of Employment Agencies, noted that employers whose maids do end up in hospital are faced on average with a bill of $10,000. But these make up only a small number overall.
She said the question on most employers' minds would be how much more they will have to fork out in insurance premiums, which are now about $190 for a 26-month period.
Insurance companies contacted said they were still working out what the increase would be.
From January, the ministry will also come down harder on errant employers who owe salaries to their maids. They risk losing their $5,000 security deposits if they do not pay their maids within a week of agreed salary payment dates.
But employers will also get a measure of protection themselves - against maids who run away.
If the ministry decides an employer has done enough to search for a runaway maid, he will lose only half of his $5,000 security bond, instead of the full amount.
Employers will be deemed to have done enough to find their maids if, for example, they have conducted checks with dormitory operators, embassies and employment agencies, and have reported the matter to MOM and the police. If a maid is found and repatriated by her employer in three months, MOM will consider returning the forfeited amount.
Worker welfare organisations said the new moves were a step forward in protecting the rights of maids.
They noted that raising medical coverage would likely reduce those instances of employers despatching sick maids home to avoid having to foot doctors' bills.
They also welcomed the greater penalties to employers for not paying their maids.
Said the president of foreign worker advocacy group Home, Ms Bridget Lew: 'Forfeiting the $5,000 security bond is a signal to employers that salaries are the right of every worker, local or foreign.'
Co-chairman of the Migrant Workers' Centre Yeo Guat Kwang suggested that part of the forfeited security bond be used to pay the arrears.
But groups were concerned about enforcement and how maids would be able to voice their problems.
Said the outreach manager for migrant worker advocacy group, Transient Workers Count Too, Ms Sha Najak: 'If they are not allowed to use the phones, and cannot get out of the house to get help, their employers will never even face the harsher penalties.'
As for the possibility of not losing their whole deposits when maids run away, employers like corporate trainer Germaine Ong, 56, said the move will not help. Ms Ong and many others do not front the security deposits themselves, but pay for insurance against it.
Ms Ong's maid ran away last month, and she will have to pay just $250 more to the insurance company, which forfeits the deposit.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
More safeguards for foreign workers
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 26 Sep 2009.
More safeguards for foreign workers
Jermyn Chow
26 September 2009
Straits Times
Medical cover increased, and better assurance of salary payments
FROM January, foreign workers here will have more protection to cover medical bills and guard against bosses who fail to pay them on time.
The Manpower Ministry (MOM) is raising their minimum medical insurance coverage from $5,000 to $15,000, which means they will be better protected against high medical bills and for more illnesses.
A second change will cushion them against salary arrears, and comes at a time of rising disputes over pay.
In the first half of this year alone, MOM saw 4,500 pay-related complaints involving work permit holders, sharply up from 3,480 for the whole of last year and 1,514 in 2007.
From January, errant employers who fail to pay their workers on time will stand to lose the $5,000 security bond they post with MOM, on top of being fined and/or jailed.
But responsible employers will also benefit from the changes, which follow a comprehensive review of issues related to foreign workers.
For example, if a worker runs away, an employer who does his best to find him will lose only half the bond.
Under the current rules, the employer loses the full amount if a worker cannot be found in three months.
While employers have to pay higher premiums for the increased medical insurance coverage, they will also be better protected should their workers need medical treatment costing more than $5,000.
This change comes more than a year after it became mandatory for employers to buy policies worth at least $5,000 a year to cover hospitalisation or day surgery.
Some employers had, in fact, called for an increase in the coverage, especially since subsidies in public hospitals and polyclinics were withdrawn for all foreigners in January last year.
A Health Ministry spokesman said about 10per cent of hospital bills incurred by foreign workers exceed $5,000. Common conditions include fractures, knee injuries and heart attacks.
The changes take effect on Jan1 and are aimed at shaping responsible behaviour among employers, to ensure they take good care of their foreign workers.
The rules will apply to everyone on work permits and S-Passes issued on or after Jan1, and to existing workers when they renew their permits.
About 944,000 foreigners here hold work permits or S-Passes and close to 200,000 of them are maids.
MOM has worked with insurers like NTUC Income and Great Eastern (GE) to ensure that suitable insurance plans are available. Insurers are still working out the premiums.
Income and GE currently offer foreign worker plans at premiums of between $27 and $100 a year, and maid plans for $160 or $255 over a 26-month period.
The executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation, Mr Koh Juan Kiat, said employers may face bigger wage bills with the changes, but this would be a 'small bitter pill' in the short run.
Madam Halimah Yacob, NTUC deputy secretary-general, said the addition of late-payment of salaries to the list of transgressions that could cost employers the $5,000 bond sends a strong signal to employers to be fair to foreign workers.
She added that employers will have to reflect the true cost of employing foreign workers in their bottom lines, including the cost of health care.
'Employers must bear in mind that the well-being and health care of their workers cannot be subsidised by Singaporeans,' she said.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
More safeguards for foreign workers
Jermyn Chow
26 September 2009
Straits Times
Medical cover increased, and better assurance of salary payments
FROM January, foreign workers here will have more protection to cover medical bills and guard against bosses who fail to pay them on time.
The Manpower Ministry (MOM) is raising their minimum medical insurance coverage from $5,000 to $15,000, which means they will be better protected against high medical bills and for more illnesses.
A second change will cushion them against salary arrears, and comes at a time of rising disputes over pay.
In the first half of this year alone, MOM saw 4,500 pay-related complaints involving work permit holders, sharply up from 3,480 for the whole of last year and 1,514 in 2007.
From January, errant employers who fail to pay their workers on time will stand to lose the $5,000 security bond they post with MOM, on top of being fined and/or jailed.
But responsible employers will also benefit from the changes, which follow a comprehensive review of issues related to foreign workers.
For example, if a worker runs away, an employer who does his best to find him will lose only half the bond.
Under the current rules, the employer loses the full amount if a worker cannot be found in three months.
While employers have to pay higher premiums for the increased medical insurance coverage, they will also be better protected should their workers need medical treatment costing more than $5,000.
This change comes more than a year after it became mandatory for employers to buy policies worth at least $5,000 a year to cover hospitalisation or day surgery.
Some employers had, in fact, called for an increase in the coverage, especially since subsidies in public hospitals and polyclinics were withdrawn for all foreigners in January last year.
A Health Ministry spokesman said about 10per cent of hospital bills incurred by foreign workers exceed $5,000. Common conditions include fractures, knee injuries and heart attacks.
The changes take effect on Jan1 and are aimed at shaping responsible behaviour among employers, to ensure they take good care of their foreign workers.
The rules will apply to everyone on work permits and S-Passes issued on or after Jan1, and to existing workers when they renew their permits.
About 944,000 foreigners here hold work permits or S-Passes and close to 200,000 of them are maids.
MOM has worked with insurers like NTUC Income and Great Eastern (GE) to ensure that suitable insurance plans are available. Insurers are still working out the premiums.
Income and GE currently offer foreign worker plans at premiums of between $27 and $100 a year, and maid plans for $160 or $255 over a 26-month period.
The executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation, Mr Koh Juan Kiat, said employers may face bigger wage bills with the changes, but this would be a 'small bitter pill' in the short run.
Madam Halimah Yacob, NTUC deputy secretary-general, said the addition of late-payment of salaries to the list of transgressions that could cost employers the $5,000 bond sends a strong signal to employers to be fair to foreign workers.
She added that employers will have to reflect the true cost of employing foreign workers in their bottom lines, including the cost of health care.
'Employers must bear in mind that the well-being and health care of their workers cannot be subsidised by Singaporeans,' she said.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Subcontractor fined $80k over death at worksite
The following article was first published in the Straits Times on 26 August 2009.
Subcontractor fined $80k over death at worksite
It disregarded safety norms and main contractor's orders
By ELENA CHONG
A SUBCONTRACTOR was yesterday fined $80,000 for its failure to ensure the safety of its employees, which resulted in the death of its company director and injuries to a construction worker.
Last week, a representative of Yeng Tong Construction pleaded guilty to the offence, which occurred at Marina Bay in July last year.
While assembling an excavator at the Marina Bay worksite, Mr Goh Lai Huat, 40, and construction worker Tan Chin Tiong, 29, were struck by the heavy arm of the machine.
Mr Goh, described in court papers as an employee and minority shareholder, died a few hours later of multiple injuries.
He was also a director of the company.
Mr Tan, who suffered a hairline crack on his left ankle, has since recovered from his injuries.
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecutor Vincent Kim said the company was engaged by Gammon Construction, the main contractor, to carry out excavation works and remove a stretch of old seawall and rocks.
On July 23 last year, Mr Goh and Mr Tan were installing the hydraulic pipes on the excavator's arm when it suddenly dropped and struck them.
Mr Kim said the company had disregarded Gammon's earlier instruction not to proceed with the assembly of excavators until a risk assessment had been approved.
The company, the court heard, knew the Hitachi excavator manual specified that only trained personnel should assemble the excavators on site, but neither Mr Goh nor the workers had any formal training for that specific model.
Mr Goh and Mr Tan went ahead with assembling the excavator despite Gammon's orders.
The company could have been fined up to $500,000.
MOM's senior assistant director (investigations) at the Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, Mr Tan Geok Leng, said in an e-mail yesterday that the company blatantly disregarded workplace safety by making unauthorised modifications to an excavator used at the worksite.
"This tragic loss of life could have been avoided had the company discharged its responsibility to properly manage workplace risks in order to protect those at work."
Subcontractor fined $80k over death at worksite
It disregarded safety norms and main contractor's orders
By ELENA CHONG
A SUBCONTRACTOR was yesterday fined $80,000 for its failure to ensure the safety of its employees, which resulted in the death of its company director and injuries to a construction worker.
Last week, a representative of Yeng Tong Construction pleaded guilty to the offence, which occurred at Marina Bay in July last year.
While assembling an excavator at the Marina Bay worksite, Mr Goh Lai Huat, 40, and construction worker Tan Chin Tiong, 29, were struck by the heavy arm of the machine.
Mr Goh, described in court papers as an employee and minority shareholder, died a few hours later of multiple injuries.
He was also a director of the company.
Mr Tan, who suffered a hairline crack on his left ankle, has since recovered from his injuries.
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecutor Vincent Kim said the company was engaged by Gammon Construction, the main contractor, to carry out excavation works and remove a stretch of old seawall and rocks.
On July 23 last year, Mr Goh and Mr Tan were installing the hydraulic pipes on the excavator's arm when it suddenly dropped and struck them.
Mr Kim said the company had disregarded Gammon's earlier instruction not to proceed with the assembly of excavators until a risk assessment had been approved.
The company, the court heard, knew the Hitachi excavator manual specified that only trained personnel should assemble the excavators on site, but neither Mr Goh nor the workers had any formal training for that specific model.
Mr Goh and Mr Tan went ahead with assembling the excavator despite Gammon's orders.
The company could have been fined up to $500,000.
MOM's senior assistant director (investigations) at the Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, Mr Tan Geok Leng, said in an e-mail yesterday that the company blatantly disregarded workplace safety by making unauthorised modifications to an excavator used at the worksite.
"This tragic loss of life could have been avoided had the company discharged its responsibility to properly manage workplace risks in order to protect those at work."
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Major safety lapses - 200 workplace deaths in 3 years
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 22 Sept 2009.
Reproduced ST photo and caption: Top management, including chief executive officers and directors, failed to enforce proper safety plans before starting work and neglected to train workers to deal competently with their equipment. -- ST PHOTO: ABDUL AZIZ HUSSIN
Major safety lapses
MOM: Bosses take large share of blame in half of 200 workplace deaths
By Jermyn Chow
HALF of the 200 workplace fatalities occurring over the past three years were caused by a failure to follow safety plans, a failure tacitly endorsed by bosses.
In these cases, management paid only lip service to safety, said Mr Silas Sng, who heads the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Inspectorate.
'While companies have some sort of safety plan in place, many do not follow through or enforce the plan,' he said in response to queries from The Straits Times. 'This condones and tacitly allows workers to take shortcuts and risks.'
Such unsafe acts included safety supervisors failing to equip workers with proper safety gear or inspecting sites properly before work started.
Top management, including chief executive officers and directors, failed to enforce proper safety plans before starting work and neglected to train workers to deal competently with their equipment.
The figures corroborated a recent report by a national task force on crane safety. The report found that 24 out of 40 investigated crane accidents between 2003 and 2007 were caused by lapses among those in management positions.
From March 2006 - when a stricter and more comprehensive workplace safety law was put in place - until last month, 27 people were fined more than $560,000 for safety lapses.
Of these, 17 were bosses, including sole proprietors and project directors.
Out of the 56 convicted companies, which paid $3.8 million in fines, 33 were construction firms (see box).
A team of 16 workplace safety investigators from the MOM has the task of going down to the 'nuts and bolts' of finding the culprits of workplace accidents.
While safety investigators have been around since the 1990s, their job has become more important in taking those liable for safety lapses to task.
Dubbed the Case Scene Investigation (CSI) team in workplace safety, the investigators are the first to be activated when a serious accident happens at a work site.
They were called up last Thursday when a worker fell to his death from a work platform at the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.
An hour after the accident happened, investigators were on their way to the scene from their office near Kim Seng Road.
After getting preliminary facts from the police, the CSI investigators spent the next five hours combing the accident site for clues that could help piece together what might have happened.
Every loose screw and frayed wire was looked into.
Their 'detective' skills are honed in a course conducted by officers from the police's Criminal Investigation Department, said the MOM's Mr Sng.
'We want our guys to learn from the best in the field of seeking and piecing together evidence,' he said.
Mr Goh Chin Keong, group head of investigations at the OSH Inspectorate, said investigators look out for shoddy practices and hazards at the work site that could cause people to trip, fall or be electrocuted.
The 38-year-old engineer, who has handled more than 39 cases since 2006, said investigators have to be prepared for the grisly sight of mangled or decapitated bodies caught in machinery.
Investigators log their findings and recommendations for legal action in their report to the Manpower Minister.
Workplace safety is under scrutiny as Singapore aims to slash its workplace death rate to 1.8 per 100,000 workers by 2018 - a target set by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last year.
It is unlikely that the rate will start dipping this year. So far, 36 people have been killed in workplace mishaps between January and June, surpassing the 32 deaths in the corresponding period last year.
The authorities believe safety investigators will be valuable in achieving the 2018 target, and the desire to see that lives are not lost unnecessarily keeps the officers going.
Senior investigation officer Kang Wee Hong, 35, said: 'It is about seeing justice done for every worker who may have lost his life because of someone else's mistakes or negligence.'
Reproduced ST photo and caption: Top management, including chief executive officers and directors, failed to enforce proper safety plans before starting work and neglected to train workers to deal competently with their equipment. -- ST PHOTO: ABDUL AZIZ HUSSINMajor safety lapses
MOM: Bosses take large share of blame in half of 200 workplace deaths
By Jermyn Chow
HALF of the 200 workplace fatalities occurring over the past three years were caused by a failure to follow safety plans, a failure tacitly endorsed by bosses.
In these cases, management paid only lip service to safety, said Mr Silas Sng, who heads the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Inspectorate.
'While companies have some sort of safety plan in place, many do not follow through or enforce the plan,' he said in response to queries from The Straits Times. 'This condones and tacitly allows workers to take shortcuts and risks.'
Such unsafe acts included safety supervisors failing to equip workers with proper safety gear or inspecting sites properly before work started.
Top management, including chief executive officers and directors, failed to enforce proper safety plans before starting work and neglected to train workers to deal competently with their equipment.
The figures corroborated a recent report by a national task force on crane safety. The report found that 24 out of 40 investigated crane accidents between 2003 and 2007 were caused by lapses among those in management positions.
From March 2006 - when a stricter and more comprehensive workplace safety law was put in place - until last month, 27 people were fined more than $560,000 for safety lapses.
Of these, 17 were bosses, including sole proprietors and project directors.
Out of the 56 convicted companies, which paid $3.8 million in fines, 33 were construction firms (see box).
A team of 16 workplace safety investigators from the MOM has the task of going down to the 'nuts and bolts' of finding the culprits of workplace accidents.
While safety investigators have been around since the 1990s, their job has become more important in taking those liable for safety lapses to task.
Dubbed the Case Scene Investigation (CSI) team in workplace safety, the investigators are the first to be activated when a serious accident happens at a work site.
They were called up last Thursday when a worker fell to his death from a work platform at the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.
An hour after the accident happened, investigators were on their way to the scene from their office near Kim Seng Road.
After getting preliminary facts from the police, the CSI investigators spent the next five hours combing the accident site for clues that could help piece together what might have happened.
Every loose screw and frayed wire was looked into.
Their 'detective' skills are honed in a course conducted by officers from the police's Criminal Investigation Department, said the MOM's Mr Sng.
'We want our guys to learn from the best in the field of seeking and piecing together evidence,' he said.
Mr Goh Chin Keong, group head of investigations at the OSH Inspectorate, said investigators look out for shoddy practices and hazards at the work site that could cause people to trip, fall or be electrocuted.
The 38-year-old engineer, who has handled more than 39 cases since 2006, said investigators have to be prepared for the grisly sight of mangled or decapitated bodies caught in machinery.
Investigators log their findings and recommendations for legal action in their report to the Manpower Minister.
Workplace safety is under scrutiny as Singapore aims to slash its workplace death rate to 1.8 per 100,000 workers by 2018 - a target set by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last year.
It is unlikely that the rate will start dipping this year. So far, 36 people have been killed in workplace mishaps between January and June, surpassing the 32 deaths in the corresponding period last year.
The authorities believe safety investigators will be valuable in achieving the 2018 target, and the desire to see that lives are not lost unnecessarily keeps the officers going.
Senior investigation officer Kang Wee Hong, 35, said: 'It is about seeing justice done for every worker who may have lost his life because of someone else's mistakes or negligence.'
Childcare teacher charged with maid abuse
The following article was published by the Straits Times on 22 Sep 2009.
Charged with maid abuse
Sep 22, 2009
By Elena Chong
A WOMAN childcare teacher was charged in court on Tuesday with pressing a hot iron on her maid.
Rajeswari Mariswaran, 37, is alleged to have used the iron to press the back of Ms Lunicia Banaba Apilit, 31, a Filipina, at her home in Bukit Batok on Nov 12 last year.
She is also accused of trying to do the same thing a few minutes later.
The maid had worked for her for about a year.
A pre-trial conference has been set on Oct 19.
Rajeswari, who is out on police bail, can be jailed for up to 10 1/2 years and/or fined if convicted of causing hurt by dangerous means.
Charged with maid abuse
Sep 22, 2009
By Elena Chong
A WOMAN childcare teacher was charged in court on Tuesday with pressing a hot iron on her maid.
Rajeswari Mariswaran, 37, is alleged to have used the iron to press the back of Ms Lunicia Banaba Apilit, 31, a Filipina, at her home in Bukit Batok on Nov 12 last year.
She is also accused of trying to do the same thing a few minutes later.
The maid had worked for her for about a year.
A pre-trial conference has been set on Oct 19.
Rajeswari, who is out on police bail, can be jailed for up to 10 1/2 years and/or fined if convicted of causing hurt by dangerous means.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Worker Killed at Marina Bay Sands IR site
The following article was published by the Straits Times on 19 September 2009.
Worker killed at Marina Bay Sands IR site
By Jermyn Chow
19 September 2009
Straits Times
Ladder falls backwards, causing construction worker to fall off
A CONSTRUCTION worker died after losing his balance and falling off a work platform at the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort site on Thursday afternoon - the second death there since work started about three years ago.
Chinese national Ji Shi Biau, 40, fell 14m to his death after the ladder he was standing on wobbled while he was dismantling the wooden structure that was supporting a concrete wall, said his co-workers. The site is where the resort's four-storey theatre is being built.
Two of Mr Ji's co-workers, who were at the scene, said he was climbing down the ladder when the accident happened.
'The structure started moving and the ladder fell backwards,' said Mr Wan Honggen, who was holding the bottom of the ladder. 'He yelled but we were too shocked to do anything.'
The 450kg structure was hooked up to a tower crane. Mr Wan added that Mr Ji was wearing his protective gear, which included a safety harness.
The other co-worker, Mr Liu Zhirong, said the Jiangsu native had left his wife and son last year to work in Singapore.
This is the second death at the site since January 2007, when a brick wall collapsed on a foreign worker. The construction firm, Lian Beng Construction, was fined $100,000 in June for safety lapses.
Manpower Ministry (MOM) safety officers have examined the site since the latest accident and have stopped work at the area for further investigation. Work elsewhere on the 20.6ha site is allowed to continue.
Eight MOM inspectors combed the site yesterday to look for other unsafe work practices. A ministry spokesman said they spotted areas which did not have effective barriers to prevent people from falling, and hazards which could cause workers to trip and fall.
She added that the main contractor, Sembawang Engineers & Constructors, and its sub-contractors would be fined for the safety violations. The amount would be decided by MOM at a later date. Companies that fail to ensure safety can be fined up to $500,000.
Marina Bay Sands' project director John Downs said Mr Ji's family had been notified and arrangements were being made for them to come to Singapore.
Falls were the top cause of worksite deaths last year, accounting for nearly a third of them.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Worker killed at Marina Bay Sands IR site
By Jermyn Chow
19 September 2009
Straits Times
Ladder falls backwards, causing construction worker to fall off
A CONSTRUCTION worker died after losing his balance and falling off a work platform at the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort site on Thursday afternoon - the second death there since work started about three years ago.
Chinese national Ji Shi Biau, 40, fell 14m to his death after the ladder he was standing on wobbled while he was dismantling the wooden structure that was supporting a concrete wall, said his co-workers. The site is where the resort's four-storey theatre is being built.
Two of Mr Ji's co-workers, who were at the scene, said he was climbing down the ladder when the accident happened.
'The structure started moving and the ladder fell backwards,' said Mr Wan Honggen, who was holding the bottom of the ladder. 'He yelled but we were too shocked to do anything.'
The 450kg structure was hooked up to a tower crane. Mr Wan added that Mr Ji was wearing his protective gear, which included a safety harness.
The other co-worker, Mr Liu Zhirong, said the Jiangsu native had left his wife and son last year to work in Singapore.
This is the second death at the site since January 2007, when a brick wall collapsed on a foreign worker. The construction firm, Lian Beng Construction, was fined $100,000 in June for safety lapses.
Manpower Ministry (MOM) safety officers have examined the site since the latest accident and have stopped work at the area for further investigation. Work elsewhere on the 20.6ha site is allowed to continue.
Eight MOM inspectors combed the site yesterday to look for other unsafe work practices. A ministry spokesman said they spotted areas which did not have effective barriers to prevent people from falling, and hazards which could cause workers to trip and fall.
She added that the main contractor, Sembawang Engineers & Constructors, and its sub-contractors would be fined for the safety violations. The amount would be decided by MOM at a later date. Companies that fail to ensure safety can be fined up to $500,000.
Marina Bay Sands' project director John Downs said Mr Ji's family had been notified and arrangements were being made for them to come to Singapore.
Falls were the top cause of worksite deaths last year, accounting for nearly a third of them.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Friday, September 18, 2009
Driver dies in lorry collision on BKE
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 18 Sept 2009.
Driver dies in lorry collision on BKE
18 September 2009
Straits Times
An Indian national in his 30s was killed when the lorry he was driving barrelled into another yesterday. The accident occurred along the BKE towards Woodlands, before the Mandai exit, at about 5.30am.
Police said a lorry had broken down and was near the side of the road when the other lorry rammed head-on into its rear. The driver of the second lorry suffered multiple injuries, primarily to the head, and died at the scene.
The impact of the collision made it hard for the lorries to be separated, and it took SCDF rescuers 30 minutes to extricate the trapped driver. The driver of the stationary lorry was not present when the police arrived at the scene.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Driver dies in lorry collision on BKE
18 September 2009
Straits Times
An Indian national in his 30s was killed when the lorry he was driving barrelled into another yesterday. The accident occurred along the BKE towards Woodlands, before the Mandai exit, at about 5.30am.
Police said a lorry had broken down and was near the side of the road when the other lorry rammed head-on into its rear. The driver of the second lorry suffered multiple injuries, primarily to the head, and died at the scene.
The impact of the collision made it hard for the lorries to be separated, and it took SCDF rescuers 30 minutes to extricate the trapped driver. The driver of the stationary lorry was not present when the police arrived at the scene.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
S’poreans have a choice to make
The following article was published in TODAY on 17 Sept 2009.
S’poreans have a choice to make
Loh Chee Kong
TODAY
17 September 2009
TODAY (Singapore)
THE Government’s intent to slow the foreigner influx may mollify those frustrated locals quick to blame the latter for various woes. But it will not wish away the reasons for which this “little red dot” had to open its doors wide in the first place.
As global economic activity declines, economists agree there is room for Singapore to reduce its dependence on imported labour, mainly by increasing productivity and automation, and improving workflow practices.
But, as they are quick to point out, there will always be a trade-off for the long-term economy. And Singapore — and Singaporeans — must figure out how far they are willing to forego aggressive growth, and all that it entails, for a moderated influx of foreign labour.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Government would “adjust the inflows so we will not dilute our national identity or weaken our social cohesion”, even while recent years’ surge of arrivals has slowed in the wake of the downturn.
How that would translate, however, in terms of foreign worker policy remains a “work in progress”, said Permanent Secretary (Manpower) Leo Yip yesterday at a press conference by the National Integration Council.
More concrete answers will have to wait, at least until the Economic Strategies Committee announces its key recommendations in January. It “will help clarify the shape of our economy in the future ... the type of people that we need,” said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, who is of the view that there should still be flexibility to ramp up imported labour in boom times.
Challenge of productivity, and how to fill jobs
Prior to the recession, Singapore’s robust growth was achieved in spite of declining productivity levels. Some economists argue this was chiefly due to the indiscriminate hiring of cheap foreign labour, with little regard for its quality.
Last month, labour chief Lim Swee Say sought to recast the “local versus foreign workers” debate, as that of “low-productivity workers versus high-productivity workers”.
Step one, to improve productivity numbers, seems obvious. Would that suffice to replace workforce quantity?
The annual growth in Singapore’s domestic workforce averages “at best, 1 to 2 per cent”, said Nanyang Technological University economist Choy Keen Meng. “At best, productivity can contribute another 2 to 3 per cent to economic growth — so that’s about 5 per cent. If you are going to grow at 8 to 9 per cent, the rest of the growth has to come from foreign labour.”
But slower growth is something most already seem prepared for, in any case. Various experts and government leaders, including Prime Minister, have stressed that the days of stellar economic growth for Singapore are all but over, given its maturing economy and how it would take time for the global economy to pick up.
CIMB-GK regional economist Song Seng Wun thinks the Government’s intent to slow the influx of foreign workers is less “a deliberate policy change but a reflection of economic reality”.
But that still begs the question of who will fill those jobs that Singaporeans appear to refuse to even consider — those in construction, F&B and hospitality.
Though thousands of Singaporeans lost their jobs in the recession, the Manpower Ministry’s latest employment report indicates there were some 24,500 job vacancies, mainly in the services industry — this, despite extensive efforts to retrain workers and eradicate prejudices against service jobs.
Given how this has been identified as a growth area, perhaps policymakers could channel their efforts in developing service jobs, including those in the logistical and creative services, that are more palatable for Singaporeans.
The price: Higher taxes, lower bonuses?
Apart from mulling over how Singapore can continue to grow at a more moderate pace, economic planners have to grapple with other short-term issues, like whether the Republic can sustain its rapid urban rejuvenation while trying to wean itself off imported labour.
Are they prepared to restrict the influx of foreign construction workers and drive up wages to attract Singaporeans to the industry — thus increasing business costs which taxpayers could ultimately pay for as public building projects become more expensive?
Singaporeans also need to ponder several questions: Are we prepared to kiss goodbye to hefty bonuses and pay increments, but earn a more stable income in a slower-growth and hence less volatile economy?
Are we willing to pick up the slack left behind by the foreign workers, which could mean toiling under the searing heat or waiting on tables for long hours?
It is soul-searching time for the nation.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
S’poreans have a choice to make
Loh Chee Kong
TODAY
17 September 2009
TODAY (Singapore)
THE Government’s intent to slow the foreigner influx may mollify those frustrated locals quick to blame the latter for various woes. But it will not wish away the reasons for which this “little red dot” had to open its doors wide in the first place.
As global economic activity declines, economists agree there is room for Singapore to reduce its dependence on imported labour, mainly by increasing productivity and automation, and improving workflow practices.
But, as they are quick to point out, there will always be a trade-off for the long-term economy. And Singapore — and Singaporeans — must figure out how far they are willing to forego aggressive growth, and all that it entails, for a moderated influx of foreign labour.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Government would “adjust the inflows so we will not dilute our national identity or weaken our social cohesion”, even while recent years’ surge of arrivals has slowed in the wake of the downturn.
How that would translate, however, in terms of foreign worker policy remains a “work in progress”, said Permanent Secretary (Manpower) Leo Yip yesterday at a press conference by the National Integration Council.
More concrete answers will have to wait, at least until the Economic Strategies Committee announces its key recommendations in January. It “will help clarify the shape of our economy in the future ... the type of people that we need,” said Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, who is of the view that there should still be flexibility to ramp up imported labour in boom times.
Challenge of productivity, and how to fill jobs
Prior to the recession, Singapore’s robust growth was achieved in spite of declining productivity levels. Some economists argue this was chiefly due to the indiscriminate hiring of cheap foreign labour, with little regard for its quality.
Last month, labour chief Lim Swee Say sought to recast the “local versus foreign workers” debate, as that of “low-productivity workers versus high-productivity workers”.
Step one, to improve productivity numbers, seems obvious. Would that suffice to replace workforce quantity?
The annual growth in Singapore’s domestic workforce averages “at best, 1 to 2 per cent”, said Nanyang Technological University economist Choy Keen Meng. “At best, productivity can contribute another 2 to 3 per cent to economic growth — so that’s about 5 per cent. If you are going to grow at 8 to 9 per cent, the rest of the growth has to come from foreign labour.”
But slower growth is something most already seem prepared for, in any case. Various experts and government leaders, including Prime Minister, have stressed that the days of stellar economic growth for Singapore are all but over, given its maturing economy and how it would take time for the global economy to pick up.
CIMB-GK regional economist Song Seng Wun thinks the Government’s intent to slow the influx of foreign workers is less “a deliberate policy change but a reflection of economic reality”.
But that still begs the question of who will fill those jobs that Singaporeans appear to refuse to even consider — those in construction, F&B and hospitality.
Though thousands of Singaporeans lost their jobs in the recession, the Manpower Ministry’s latest employment report indicates there were some 24,500 job vacancies, mainly in the services industry — this, despite extensive efforts to retrain workers and eradicate prejudices against service jobs.
Given how this has been identified as a growth area, perhaps policymakers could channel their efforts in developing service jobs, including those in the logistical and creative services, that are more palatable for Singaporeans.
The price: Higher taxes, lower bonuses?
Apart from mulling over how Singapore can continue to grow at a more moderate pace, economic planners have to grapple with other short-term issues, like whether the Republic can sustain its rapid urban rejuvenation while trying to wean itself off imported labour.
Are they prepared to restrict the influx of foreign construction workers and drive up wages to attract Singaporeans to the industry — thus increasing business costs which taxpayers could ultimately pay for as public building projects become more expensive?
Singaporeans also need to ponder several questions: Are we prepared to kiss goodbye to hefty bonuses and pay increments, but earn a more stable income in a slower-growth and hence less volatile economy?
Are we willing to pick up the slack left behind by the foreign workers, which could mean toiling under the searing heat or waiting on tables for long hours?
It is soul-searching time for the nation.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Foreign talent in Singapore
The following article was published in the Business Times on 17 Sept 2009.
Foreign talent in Singapore
17 September 2009
Business Times Singapore
WHEN economists pointed out several years ago that Singapore's potential medium-term growth had gone up several notches to about 8 per cent, the number one factor behind the rise, they said, was foreign labour expansion. An open-door policy towards foreign talent helped to overcome the constraints resulting from declining fertility rates and an aging population.
More recently, a liberal immigration policy was also cited by an upbeat economist as a key factor behind his bullish forecast that the Singapore economy could in 2010 - the year following its worst economic numbers ever - grow a robust 8 per cent or more. Which is why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's remarks on Tuesday night about a slowdown ahead in the influx of immigrants, while an obvious headline grabber, should not be misread or misconstrued as a sea change in Singapore's liberal stance on foreign talent.
To be sure, Mr Lee's comments are timely in placating and assuring some sections of Singaporeans who have of late voiced, ever more loudly, misgivings about the growing numbers of foreigners in their midst. The complaints range from allegedly poor service standards (from foreigners in frontline retail, hawker and other service jobs who can't speak English) to outright competition with Singaporeans for places in top schools, national sports teams and, not least, for jobs. Such grouses would no doubt be fodder for the hustings, come election time in a year or two; grist to the mill for the opposition particularly. In saying this week that there will be a let-up in the pace of intake of immigrants, and as well a sharper distinction between citizens and permanent residents in perks and benefits, Mr Lee is acknowledging the concerns of disgruntled Singaporeans and telling them that the government is mindful of their discontent. And as well, he said, with the current slower pace of economic activity following the global crisis, Singapore cannot quite continue to add unlimited numbers to the foreign worker population, which has ballooned to about one million here.
But Mr Lee also made clear, in his speech to undergraduates, that wooing foreign talent to sink roots here remains key to Singapore's future. The Republic simply lacks the skills and expertise in specialist areas that it wants to be engaged in. At the other end of the spectrum, the hordes of foreigners on work permits here do the jobs that Singaporeans shun - and it's those foreigners who bear the brunt of job losses in bad years. And yes, Mr Lee said, touching on something that has had people either bemused or piqued over the years, Singapore will indeed continue to 'go for Number 1 in everything'. But that - as well as Singapore's aspirations to become a leading global city - can't be achieved on the sweat and strengths of just its homebred people. Or is that not apparent? It may well be that getting Singaporeans to embrace foreigners in their midst is a bigger challenge than wooing globally-mobile top talents to come here.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Foreign talent in Singapore
17 September 2009
Business Times Singapore
WHEN economists pointed out several years ago that Singapore's potential medium-term growth had gone up several notches to about 8 per cent, the number one factor behind the rise, they said, was foreign labour expansion. An open-door policy towards foreign talent helped to overcome the constraints resulting from declining fertility rates and an aging population.
More recently, a liberal immigration policy was also cited by an upbeat economist as a key factor behind his bullish forecast that the Singapore economy could in 2010 - the year following its worst economic numbers ever - grow a robust 8 per cent or more. Which is why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's remarks on Tuesday night about a slowdown ahead in the influx of immigrants, while an obvious headline grabber, should not be misread or misconstrued as a sea change in Singapore's liberal stance on foreign talent.
To be sure, Mr Lee's comments are timely in placating and assuring some sections of Singaporeans who have of late voiced, ever more loudly, misgivings about the growing numbers of foreigners in their midst. The complaints range from allegedly poor service standards (from foreigners in frontline retail, hawker and other service jobs who can't speak English) to outright competition with Singaporeans for places in top schools, national sports teams and, not least, for jobs. Such grouses would no doubt be fodder for the hustings, come election time in a year or two; grist to the mill for the opposition particularly. In saying this week that there will be a let-up in the pace of intake of immigrants, and as well a sharper distinction between citizens and permanent residents in perks and benefits, Mr Lee is acknowledging the concerns of disgruntled Singaporeans and telling them that the government is mindful of their discontent. And as well, he said, with the current slower pace of economic activity following the global crisis, Singapore cannot quite continue to add unlimited numbers to the foreign worker population, which has ballooned to about one million here.
But Mr Lee also made clear, in his speech to undergraduates, that wooing foreign talent to sink roots here remains key to Singapore's future. The Republic simply lacks the skills and expertise in specialist areas that it wants to be engaged in. At the other end of the spectrum, the hordes of foreigners on work permits here do the jobs that Singaporeans shun - and it's those foreigners who bear the brunt of job losses in bad years. And yes, Mr Lee said, touching on something that has had people either bemused or piqued over the years, Singapore will indeed continue to 'go for Number 1 in everything'. But that - as well as Singapore's aspirations to become a leading global city - can't be achieved on the sweat and strengths of just its homebred people. Or is that not apparent? It may well be that getting Singaporeans to embrace foreigners in their midst is a bigger challenge than wooing globally-mobile top talents to come here.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Totally inadequate punishment for taking money from foreign workers
The following article was posted by Alex Au on his website yawning bread on 16 September 2009.
Contractor Ke Koon Seng (above, pic from the Straits Times) was fined just S$5,000 for taking money from foreign workers for giving them jobs.
This is totally insufficient. It is all the more ridiculous when the prosecution itself called for a jail term.
The Straits Times (16 Sept 2009, Kickbacks for hiring: first boss penalised) reported:
The prosecution had argued for a jail term as it said the practice of receiving kickbacks was ‘abhorrent’ because it increased the debt burden of foreign workers.
‘These foreign employees are effectively compelled to work longer to recoup the payments they have made,’ said prosecutor R. Manoj from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
However, District Judge Christopher Goh was not convinced, and said a jail term was not necessary while imposing the fine.
Ke had pleaded guilty last month to deducting $300 from a Bangladeshi worker’s $1,009 salary for the month of July last year as a condition for having employed him
Investigations revealed that Ke had made three earlier deductions amounting to $1,500 from the foreign worker’s monthly salary.
What the report does not say is whether he was ordered to make restitution to the worker involved. Neither do I believe that the problem was confined to one worker. That being the case, do I even think the $5,000 fine exceeded what he had earned from the illegal scheme?
At a forum held at Sinema last Sunday, following the screening of films showing the way foreign workers in Singapore and Malaysia are abused, one of the panellists said a critical factor is the way workers have to pay upfront fees of S$8,000 to S$9,000 to land a job — something that Yawning Bread has said a few times previously. These workers often have to sell the farm to raise this kind of money or borrow from loan sharks. Once in debt, they become highly vulnerable to abuse from agents and employers.
Labour agents see the fees as a honeypot. It is also widely believed that these fees are often shared with employers who hire workers. In other words, it’s quite widespread for employers to take money from workers to give them jobs, not pay them for work done.
The panellists also suggested that a huge scam might have been operating recently, where contractors bring in hundreds of workers from Bangladesh, each having paid $8,000 to $9,000, without actually having any jobs. A few months later, after holding the workers in dormitories with nothing to do, and not even adequately provided with meals and medical care for those who fell sick, the agents abandon them. Multiply $8,000 by, say, 400 workers, and you have a sum of S$3.2 million.
How do agents manage to bring in workers without having job openings? Apparently, the Ministry of Manpower has such a loose system than just about anybody can say they have jobs without being checked.
Even more ridiculous was that after these hundreds of workers were rescued from virtual internment and starvation, they were mainly sent back to their home country, broke and in debt. Meanwhile hundreds more new workers were being brought in. Why couldn’t we have redeployed these hundreds of stranded workers, so that at least they have a way to earn back what they have paid up and suffered for? Why bring in new workers when we already have desperate workers here?
Singapore’s worker management system is heartless, unco-ordinated and, frankly, a sick joke.
Contractor Ke Koon Seng (above, pic from the Straits Times) was fined just S$5,000 for taking money from foreign workers for giving them jobs.
This is totally insufficient. It is all the more ridiculous when the prosecution itself called for a jail term.
The Straits Times (16 Sept 2009, Kickbacks for hiring: first boss penalised) reported:
The prosecution had argued for a jail term as it said the practice of receiving kickbacks was ‘abhorrent’ because it increased the debt burden of foreign workers.
‘These foreign employees are effectively compelled to work longer to recoup the payments they have made,’ said prosecutor R. Manoj from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
However, District Judge Christopher Goh was not convinced, and said a jail term was not necessary while imposing the fine.
Ke had pleaded guilty last month to deducting $300 from a Bangladeshi worker’s $1,009 salary for the month of July last year as a condition for having employed him
Investigations revealed that Ke had made three earlier deductions amounting to $1,500 from the foreign worker’s monthly salary.
What the report does not say is whether he was ordered to make restitution to the worker involved. Neither do I believe that the problem was confined to one worker. That being the case, do I even think the $5,000 fine exceeded what he had earned from the illegal scheme?
At a forum held at Sinema last Sunday, following the screening of films showing the way foreign workers in Singapore and Malaysia are abused, one of the panellists said a critical factor is the way workers have to pay upfront fees of S$8,000 to S$9,000 to land a job — something that Yawning Bread has said a few times previously. These workers often have to sell the farm to raise this kind of money or borrow from loan sharks. Once in debt, they become highly vulnerable to abuse from agents and employers.
Labour agents see the fees as a honeypot. It is also widely believed that these fees are often shared with employers who hire workers. In other words, it’s quite widespread for employers to take money from workers to give them jobs, not pay them for work done.
The panellists also suggested that a huge scam might have been operating recently, where contractors bring in hundreds of workers from Bangladesh, each having paid $8,000 to $9,000, without actually having any jobs. A few months later, after holding the workers in dormitories with nothing to do, and not even adequately provided with meals and medical care for those who fell sick, the agents abandon them. Multiply $8,000 by, say, 400 workers, and you have a sum of S$3.2 million.
How do agents manage to bring in workers without having job openings? Apparently, the Ministry of Manpower has such a loose system than just about anybody can say they have jobs without being checked.
Even more ridiculous was that after these hundreds of workers were rescued from virtual internment and starvation, they were mainly sent back to their home country, broke and in debt. Meanwhile hundreds more new workers were being brought in. Why couldn’t we have redeployed these hundreds of stranded workers, so that at least they have a way to earn back what they have paid up and suffered for? Why bring in new workers when we already have desperate workers here?
Singapore’s worker management system is heartless, unco-ordinated and, frankly, a sick joke.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Kickbacks for hiring: First boss penalised
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 16 Sept 2009.
Kickbacks for hiring: First boss penalised
By Khushwant Singh
16 September 2009
Straits Times
He deducted $300 from foreign worker's pay as condition for hiring him
A CONTRACTOR was charged yesterday with violating regulations that prohibit employers from receiving payment for hiring foreign workers - the first since the new rules were introduced last year.
Ke Koon Seng, 51, a director at Seng Systems Engineering, was fined $5,000 by a district court.
The prosecution had argued for a jail term as it said the practice of receiving kickbacks was 'abhorrent' because it increased the debt burden of foreign workers.
'These foreign employees are effectively compelled to work longer to recoup the payments they have made,' said prosecutor R. Manoj from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
However, District Judge Christopher Goh was not convinced, and said a jail term was not necessary while imposing the fine.
Ke had pleaded guilty last month to deducting $300 from a Bangladeshi worker's $1,009 salary for the month of July last year as a condition for having employed him.
Investigations revealed that Ke had made three earlier deductions amounting to $1,500 from the foreign worker's monthly salary.
The MOM had initiated checks after receiving information that Seng Systems was infringing the new law, which went into force in July last year.
Under the new regulations, employers are not allowed to receive payment as consideration for employing foreign workers, nor should they recover employment-related costs from them.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employers who breach work permit conditions can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months.
They will also be barred from employing foreign workers in future.
The MOM warned that employment agencies which breach the Employment Agency licensing conditions will have their licences revoked and security deposit of $20,000 forfeited.
In an e-mail to the media after Ke's sentencing, divisional director Aw Kum Cheong of MOM's foreign manpower management division, pointed out that the successful conviction was a strong reminder to employers of the seriousness of this offence.
He said: 'This case is the first of four cases that are presently before the courts, and MOM will continue to push for stiff sentences in all kickback cases.'
Mr Aw added that the MOM was in the midst of investigating several other cases, and will adopt a zero-tolerance approach to such offences.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Kickbacks for hiring: First boss penalised
By Khushwant Singh
16 September 2009
Straits Times
He deducted $300 from foreign worker's pay as condition for hiring him
A CONTRACTOR was charged yesterday with violating regulations that prohibit employers from receiving payment for hiring foreign workers - the first since the new rules were introduced last year.
Ke Koon Seng, 51, a director at Seng Systems Engineering, was fined $5,000 by a district court.
The prosecution had argued for a jail term as it said the practice of receiving kickbacks was 'abhorrent' because it increased the debt burden of foreign workers.
'These foreign employees are effectively compelled to work longer to recoup the payments they have made,' said prosecutor R. Manoj from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
However, District Judge Christopher Goh was not convinced, and said a jail term was not necessary while imposing the fine.
Ke had pleaded guilty last month to deducting $300 from a Bangladeshi worker's $1,009 salary for the month of July last year as a condition for having employed him.
Investigations revealed that Ke had made three earlier deductions amounting to $1,500 from the foreign worker's monthly salary.
The MOM had initiated checks after receiving information that Seng Systems was infringing the new law, which went into force in July last year.
Under the new regulations, employers are not allowed to receive payment as consideration for employing foreign workers, nor should they recover employment-related costs from them.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, employers who breach work permit conditions can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to six months.
They will also be barred from employing foreign workers in future.
The MOM warned that employment agencies which breach the Employment Agency licensing conditions will have their licences revoked and security deposit of $20,000 forfeited.
In an e-mail to the media after Ke's sentencing, divisional director Aw Kum Cheong of MOM's foreign manpower management division, pointed out that the successful conviction was a strong reminder to employers of the seriousness of this offence.
He said: 'This case is the first of four cases that are presently before the courts, and MOM will continue to push for stiff sentences in all kickback cases.'
Mr Aw added that the MOM was in the midst of investigating several other cases, and will adopt a zero-tolerance approach to such offences.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Monday, September 14, 2009
Filipino sent to work on fishing vessel now missing
The following article was published in TODAY on 14 Sep 2009.
The search for a missing brother
Jhomar Orilla's relatives have not heard from him for months, but who can they turn to for help?
by Neo Chai Chin
TODAY
IT IS a cross-border tale of vulnerable migrant workers - unskilled foreign seafarers who get work on board overseas-registered vessels through local manning agencies.
Last month, a Filipino woman flew here from Hong Kong in search of answers to her brother's whereabouts.
According to Mrs Venus Orilla O'Rourke, 26, her brother Jhomar Orilla had come to Singapore on Jan 26 after being told about a job on board a cruise ship by a recruiter in his village in Pangasinan, northern Philippines. The recruiter, whose relative works as a domestic helper in Singapore, said a local company called Beverly Agency would place him on the ship.
Forking out 23,000 pesos ($694), the 24-year-old flew to Singapore, only to learn it wasn't a cruise ship job paying US$1,000 ($1,420) a month that he was getting; it was a US$200 a month job on board a fishing vessel, he told his family in an SMS before he left Singapore on Jan 27 - the last time the family had heard from him.
"We didn't want him to go, knowing he had been grossly misled," said Mrs Orilla O'Rourke. But her brother had already left Singapore. Beverly's owner Lim Hang Tiong confirmed the fishing vessel belongs to Taiwanese firm Yilong Shipping Company.
The recruitment of Filipino workers by local manning agencies to work in fishing vessels has been "entrenched" in Singapore for at least three years, said Mr Nathaniel Imperial, Minister and Consul-General for the Philippines Embassy here.
He knows of at least "a few thousand" workers recruited by these agencies, and Beverly is one of two major agencies here.
Help only for qualified seamen
"What these fishing vessels do, is they recruit farmers from the Philippines who have very little education and without seamanship experience," he said.
Their salaries range from US$150 to US$500 monthly, but the employer or manning agency keeps the bulk of the salary until the workers' contracts, lasting two or three years, are up. Workers who wish to terminate their contracts prematurely are subject to penalties.
"That's where we come in. They ask for help, and we help to negotiate to get their unclaimed salaries," said Mr Imperial.
President of the Singapore Organisation of Seamen (SOS) Mohamed Idris said he encountered "seven to 10" cases of such workers on fishing vessels about four years ago, but has not seen any in the last three years. Although what these manning agencies do is not illegal, "to me, definitely it's wrong", he said. "You know that these people are passport holder seamen, they are not qualified seamen. And they are not being given any contract to sign."
The SOS is affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which has 654 member unions representing 4.5 million workers worldwide.
The SOS tries its best to help these workers "under humanitarian grounds, but it's very difficult", said Mr Idris. The ITF is only able to help qualified seafarers with a seaman's book, he said.
Although the Embassy has yet to establish first-hand the facts of Mr Orilla's case, "we have conveyed the request of the family members, and (Beverly) has told us that they will request Mr Orilla to contact the family as soon as he is able to", Mr Imperial said.
In Mr Orilla's case, he did not even have to settle for a fishing vessel job. Married with two children, he had graduated with honours from a nautical course in college in the Philippines, said his sister, who is married and lives in Hong Kong.
Agency: Terms of employment clear
Together with her husband Benjamin O'Rourke, they went to Beverly Agency to speak to owner Lim Hang Tiong on Aug 17, and Today sat in on the meeting.
Mr Lim - whose company is not considered an employment agency by the Ministry of Manpower (see sidebar) - denied he had any role in misleading the workers.
Producing a document that he said was given to all his recruiters, he said the terms of employment are clear - the work is on board fishing vessels, with a monthly salary of US$200.
Experienced seamen get US$230, and in the first five months, the workers keep US$50, while the agency keeps US$180. This is because many workers ask to break their three-year-long contracts, Mr Lim said. The portion of the salary kept pays for their airfare home.
Mr Lim also told the O'Rourkes that Mr Orilla's vessel was currently in the Indian Ocean. The vessels typically offload every nine months in Sri Lanka, and the silence from Mr Orilla means he has not met with any mishap, he said.
For now, the O'Rourkes can only await Mr Orilla's call, and see if he sends money home to the Philippines in a few months.
MOM's reply:
The Ministry of Manpower's investigations have found that Beverly Agency is not an employment agency and hence, it is not regulated under the Employment Agencies Act. MOM has established that there are no recruitment activities or job matching carried out by the agency in Singapore. Actual recruitment of the seamen is carried out by Beverly's business partners based overseas.
Instead, Beverly Agency works as a managing agent for overseas clients and handles administrative work. Managing agents provide business service, and in this case includes arranging for seamen's visas, lodging and providing meals for the seamen while they are in transit here in Singapore.
The seamen in question are deployed to work for employers not based in Singapore and on international waters. Local or foreign seamen who have encountered employment related issues in Singapore can seek assistance from the Singapore Organisation of Seamen.
The search for a missing brother
Jhomar Orilla's relatives have not heard from him for months, but who can they turn to for help?
by Neo Chai Chin
TODAY
IT IS a cross-border tale of vulnerable migrant workers - unskilled foreign seafarers who get work on board overseas-registered vessels through local manning agencies.
Last month, a Filipino woman flew here from Hong Kong in search of answers to her brother's whereabouts.
According to Mrs Venus Orilla O'Rourke, 26, her brother Jhomar Orilla had come to Singapore on Jan 26 after being told about a job on board a cruise ship by a recruiter in his village in Pangasinan, northern Philippines. The recruiter, whose relative works as a domestic helper in Singapore, said a local company called Beverly Agency would place him on the ship.
Forking out 23,000 pesos ($694), the 24-year-old flew to Singapore, only to learn it wasn't a cruise ship job paying US$1,000 ($1,420) a month that he was getting; it was a US$200 a month job on board a fishing vessel, he told his family in an SMS before he left Singapore on Jan 27 - the last time the family had heard from him.
"We didn't want him to go, knowing he had been grossly misled," said Mrs Orilla O'Rourke. But her brother had already left Singapore. Beverly's owner Lim Hang Tiong confirmed the fishing vessel belongs to Taiwanese firm Yilong Shipping Company.
The recruitment of Filipino workers by local manning agencies to work in fishing vessels has been "entrenched" in Singapore for at least three years, said Mr Nathaniel Imperial, Minister and Consul-General for the Philippines Embassy here.
He knows of at least "a few thousand" workers recruited by these agencies, and Beverly is one of two major agencies here.
Help only for qualified seamen
"What these fishing vessels do, is they recruit farmers from the Philippines who have very little education and without seamanship experience," he said.
Their salaries range from US$150 to US$500 monthly, but the employer or manning agency keeps the bulk of the salary until the workers' contracts, lasting two or three years, are up. Workers who wish to terminate their contracts prematurely are subject to penalties.
"That's where we come in. They ask for help, and we help to negotiate to get their unclaimed salaries," said Mr Imperial.
President of the Singapore Organisation of Seamen (SOS) Mohamed Idris said he encountered "seven to 10" cases of such workers on fishing vessels about four years ago, but has not seen any in the last three years. Although what these manning agencies do is not illegal, "to me, definitely it's wrong", he said. "You know that these people are passport holder seamen, they are not qualified seamen. And they are not being given any contract to sign."
The SOS is affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which has 654 member unions representing 4.5 million workers worldwide.
The SOS tries its best to help these workers "under humanitarian grounds, but it's very difficult", said Mr Idris. The ITF is only able to help qualified seafarers with a seaman's book, he said.
Although the Embassy has yet to establish first-hand the facts of Mr Orilla's case, "we have conveyed the request of the family members, and (Beverly) has told us that they will request Mr Orilla to contact the family as soon as he is able to", Mr Imperial said.
In Mr Orilla's case, he did not even have to settle for a fishing vessel job. Married with two children, he had graduated with honours from a nautical course in college in the Philippines, said his sister, who is married and lives in Hong Kong.
Agency: Terms of employment clear
Together with her husband Benjamin O'Rourke, they went to Beverly Agency to speak to owner Lim Hang Tiong on Aug 17, and Today sat in on the meeting.
Mr Lim - whose company is not considered an employment agency by the Ministry of Manpower (see sidebar) - denied he had any role in misleading the workers.
Producing a document that he said was given to all his recruiters, he said the terms of employment are clear - the work is on board fishing vessels, with a monthly salary of US$200.
Experienced seamen get US$230, and in the first five months, the workers keep US$50, while the agency keeps US$180. This is because many workers ask to break their three-year-long contracts, Mr Lim said. The portion of the salary kept pays for their airfare home.
Mr Lim also told the O'Rourkes that Mr Orilla's vessel was currently in the Indian Ocean. The vessels typically offload every nine months in Sri Lanka, and the silence from Mr Orilla means he has not met with any mishap, he said.
For now, the O'Rourkes can only await Mr Orilla's call, and see if he sends money home to the Philippines in a few months.
MOM's reply:
The Ministry of Manpower's investigations have found that Beverly Agency is not an employment agency and hence, it is not regulated under the Employment Agencies Act. MOM has established that there are no recruitment activities or job matching carried out by the agency in Singapore. Actual recruitment of the seamen is carried out by Beverly's business partners based overseas.
Instead, Beverly Agency works as a managing agent for overseas clients and handles administrative work. Managing agents provide business service, and in this case includes arranging for seamen's visas, lodging and providing meals for the seamen while they are in transit here in Singapore.
The seamen in question are deployed to work for employers not based in Singapore and on international waters. Local or foreign seamen who have encountered employment related issues in Singapore can seek assistance from the Singapore Organisation of Seamen.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Foreign workers: How to strike that fine balance?
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 12 Sept 2009.
FOREIGN WORKERS: HOW TO STRIKE THAT FINE BALANCE?
New restrictions on the flow of foreign workers have caused companies in the services sector to fret. Insight looks at whether they are over-reliant on foreigners and what can be done to help them.
By Goh Chin Lian, Senior Political Correspondent
WHEN Mr Teo Siong Seng, chief of Singapore's top Chinese business organisation, has lunch with head honchos these days, one topic never fails to surface - foreign workers. We need more of them, argue employers, who are in a huff over recent changes to tighten the inflow of foreign workers, especially those from China.
He rattles off their complaints.
Trucking companies get jittery when their China drivers head home, as they cannot find replacements and meet delivery deadlines.
Food manufacturers cannot fulfil orders because not enough locals want to work in their factories.
'They are concerned that getting additional workers is difficult, and renewing foreign workers' permits is difficult,' says Mr Teo,
president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a Nominated MP.
Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) chief executive Phillip Overmyer says these same worries also trouble hotels,
operators of convention facilities and retailers.
He believes the lack of foreign labour is expected to be a 'significant problem', especially when the two integrated resorts open
early next year.
This will mean the calls for more foreign workers are likely to grow louder.
But the Government cannot simply give in to such business demands, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong had said, explaining that it needed to strike a balance between the clamour by businesses for foreign workers and the cry by locals for jobs.
It is a delicate balancing act, he told Parliament last month.
Companies, however, insist they have tried, but failed, to attract locals.
But have Singapore companies become over-reliant on foreign workers who are viewed as cheaper alternatives to locals?
Why are they unable to find locals to fill these jobs, despite the downturn?
Can policymakers give some leeway to specified companies that cannot overcome their need for foreign workers?
How numbers are controlled
THE Government keeps a lid on foreign worker numbers in two ways: Setting a quota on how many foreigners on work permits can be hired in each sector and getting bosses to pay a levy for hiring them.
The latest changes on June 1 involve tweaking the quota.
What bosses are unhappy with is the new way of computing the number of workers allowed from 'non-traditional' sources like China.
Previously, to hire one China worker in the services sector, an employer needed to have five locals on the payroll.
Now, he must have nine workers before he can hire one China worker - at least five must be locals and the rest can be foreigners from 'traditional sources' like Malaysia.
Another change is the stricter requirements for China workers to qualify as skilled workers. They must have at least a diploma verified by the Chinese authorities, when previously there was none.
The main argument for tightening the controls, amid the global economic crisis, is that local employment will go up.
The move follows a rise in the locals' jobless rate to a five-year high of 4.8 per cent in March, which dipped to 4.6 per cent in June.
One assumption is bosses will be forced to consider Singaporeans when they cannot rely on foreign workers as an easier and cheaper alternative.
But is this sufficient to soak up more locals into the employment pool?
Some analysts believe the Government can go further to deter employers from hiring foreigners - by increasing the levy.
The monthly charge ranges from $150 per worker to $470, with employers paying a higher fee when hiring more of them or the less skilled.
Economist Choy Keen Meng feels the levy is not stiff enough.
'Employers are well able to pay the levy in a booming market,' says the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) don who is convinced this has led employers to hire them over locals.
He adds: 'This over-reliance was built up over the boom years from late-2004 when the economy was growing at 7 per cent to 9 per cent, beyond its potential rate of 4 per cent to 6 per cent.
'The Government has perhaps been a little too relaxed in terms of allowing foreign labour in, especially in the lower end of the skills scale.'
Addicted to foreign workers?
HAS this led to Singapore's over-reliance on foreign workers?
Looking at foreign worker figures, their numbers shot up by more than 40 per cent from 2004 to last year - rising at a much faster pace than local workers.
There are around one million of them, including employment pass holders, and they form about one-third of the total workforce.
But it is tough to tell whether there is over-reliance by numbers alone, as a record number of jobs were also created during those boom years, with too many jobs for locals to fill.
Employers also cry foul over such assertions, pinning some of the blame on locals who shun jobs which foreigners are willing to take.
At Suntec Convention Centre, the job of arranging chairs and cleaning dishes falls on a team of China workers.
In fact, all 21 workers in the banqueting team that prepares rooms for functions are from China.
Similarly, the 14-man team in the stewarding department, that sets the tableware and cleans them, has eight work permit holders from China.
As with many businesses that hire foreign workers, it insists it is not over- reliant on such workers.
'We just cannot find locals for these jobs,' says its human resource director Jacqueline Goh.
'We even tried the Yellow Ribbon,' she adds, referring to the campaign to give ex-offenders a second chance.
'They, very interestingly, came back to say there are no career prospects for our kind of jobs in stewarding.'
The few that applied for the $900-a-month job left after the second day. This is why employers are increasingly turning to foreign
workers, who are filling more jobs here.
Foreign workers form about 25 per cent of the nearly two million workers employed last year in the services sector, an increase from 22 per cent in 2006, according to latest official figures.
But the pool is greater in construction, where it rose from 61 per cent to 70 per cent, and manufacturing, where it climbed from 45 per cent to 51 per cent.
Most employers blame it on the inherently labour-intensive nature of their industries.
Hoteliers point to the need for personal service, from greeting guests at the front desk to tidying up the rooms and serving meals in a restaurant.
Says Mr Overmyer: 'There are devices to raise the bed, but you still need the housekeeper to pick up dirty towels and rearrange things in the room.'
Some industries, however, have reduced their reliance on foreign workers.
In recent years, the cleaning, landscaping and security industries, for instance, show that automation and job redesign with higher pay can draw locals.
Driven by the labour movement, cleaning contractors were further encouraged to automate when the 14 town councils run by the People's Action Party changed their way of awarding contracts, giving emphasis to quality instead of focusing only on price.
Their workers were trained and, with certified skills, were paid $1,000 a month - up from $750 - and given Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions.
It helped raise the proportion of locals to foreigners from 50:50, to 60:40, says Mr Albert Teng, coordinating secretary for the 14 PAP-run town councils.
Picky locals, poor wages
HOWEVER, not all locals are as accepting, which is a headache for employers like apparel maker Mark Lee.
The chief executive officer of SL Global hires China seamstresses to make the prototypes of complex attires such as running jackets with many unseen pockets and cycling shorts padded with gel.
But earlier this year, he hired some local seamstresses who had been laid off.
'They left after a week, saying the apparel is more complex than what they were used to,' he says. Their monthly pay was between $1,000 and $1,200.
Another oft-cited obstacle is working hours, with few locals willing to work on weekends, night shifts and public holidays. But these are inevitable in such service sectors as hotels, retail, and food and beverage outlets.
Other deterrents are stuffy and non-air-conditioned production floors, distance from home, lack of career advancement and the perception that service jobs are menial. Even in this downturn, jobs such as waiters, housekeepers and factory packers are going a-begging.
Riverview Hotel advertised last month for 10 positions, including waiters, technicians, housekeeping staff and kitchen assistants. Their monthly pay: about $750 for kitchen assistants, $900 for waiters and housekeeping staff, and $1,200 to $1,400 for technicians.
About 90 per cent of the 300 that applied were Filipinos, 5 per cent were from India, Vietnam, Myanmar and China, and 3 to 4 per cent from Malaysia. 'Only 1 to 2 per cent were Singaporeans,' said its human resource manager Christine Chan.
In contrast, 80 per cent of the 7,800 applications Marina Bay Sands received last month were from Singaporeans eyeing the more than 1,000 dealer positions in its casino.Employers attribute it to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) drumming up support for the recruitment drive of the two integrated resorts (IRs).
They also maintain they strive hard to attract locals, including advertising on job portals, taking part in job fairs, and working with
the WDA, community development councils and the labour movement to train and place workers.
Economists blame lousy wages as the chief culprit for locals' lack of interest.
In the boom years of 2004 to 2007, wages as a share of Singapore's gross domestic product fell to about 42 per cent from a high of 47 per cent in 2001, suggesting there was some under-paying of wages even though profits had risen.
Last year, the wage share rose to 44.9 per cent but it is an exception as profits tend to fall faster than wages in a downturn, notes
Associate Professor Hui Weng Tat of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
One way to force wages up is to curb the supply of foreign workers, says NTU's Associate Professor Choy.
'Let the market do the job. Higher wages will attract some locals and prompt firms to think about automation.'
Turning off the tap
BUT curbing the flow of foreign workers can lead to the loss of those trained.
More importantly, it can cause a loss of business opportunities.
Demand for Bengawan Solo's almond cookies and handmade pineapple tarts is high but the local bakery chain struggles to find locals to work as production operators in its factories for $900 a month.
Says its managing director Anastasia Liew: 'I have factory space in Malaysia which used to be rented out, but is now vacant. I may have to move out.'
When companies move overseas, there is inevitably a knock-on effect on suppliers and other related businesses - and, in turn, their Singaporean workers.
Economists, however, argue that it may be good for the economy for some businesses to leave.
Says Prof Hui: 'Then you can channel limited labour resources to higher value-added, more technologically advanced industries.'
Agreeing, Mr Overmyer notes the structural economic changes over the years and says: 'We don't assemble TVs any more. We do semiconductor wafer fabs, and now we are looking at wind machines and solar cells. We have to adjust constantly the level of support we give at the low end.'
But he argues that hotels, restaurants and retailers are in a different class. Singapore cannot ignore their needs given its
ambitions to be an alluring global city. 'It's a question of whether we need so many first class, highly rated hotels and whether we need two IRs. The answer apparently is 'yes', for Singapore to thrive.'
But the surge in the service sector is significant, points out NTUC deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob. 'There is a clear need to calibrate the policy on foreign workers, particularly in the service sector where the influx is so apparent and obvious today compared to just one or two years ago.'
But, she adds: 'In the manufacturing sector, where millions of dollars worth of investments are involved, foreign workers do fill the gaps in both numbers and skills that cannot be filled by our local workforce.'
Give special treatment
BUSINESSES hungry for manpower suggest that the Government set a more generous foreign worker quota for specified companies.
Such a targeted approach will iron out the wrinkles in the system of giving different quota entitlements to six sectors: manufacturing, services, construction, process, marine plus landscaping, agri-technology and incinerator plants.
Their proposed criteria for such special treatment would include the company's efforts in redesigning jobs to pay reasonable wages, automating their processes and recruiting locals plus back-to-work women and older workers.
But such a policy could be unwieldy to implement and potentially contentious, says Prof Hui. 'Almost every company will ask to be an exception.'
Another approach suggested by economists and businesses - and one that the Government is taking - is to be more discriminating on the supply side. Raise the skills bar continually, they urge, suggesting that qualifications, work experience and type of job be on the list of criteria for foreign workers. It would benefit employers of skilled workers in short supply but not those who rely on less-skilled workers in jobs shunned by locals.
Correspondingly, it would help achieve Singapore's long-term strategy to raise the workforce quality while allowing some businesses to grow.
On the national level, economists say Singapore needs to relook its dependence on foreign workers before the economy recovers.
It is an issue being considered by the high-level Economic Strategies Committee, which will give its key recommendations in January.
Says Prof Hui: 'Growth at any cost is not something we want.'
Likewise, NTU's Prof Choy believes it is 'good' to have a more sustainable growth rate.
'Automatically, the need for foreign workers will come down. As long as the policy is not changed, once the economy booms again, we are going to repeat all the mistakes,' he adds.
FOREIGN WORKERS: HOW TO STRIKE THAT FINE BALANCE?
New restrictions on the flow of foreign workers have caused companies in the services sector to fret. Insight looks at whether they are over-reliant on foreigners and what can be done to help them.
By Goh Chin Lian, Senior Political Correspondent
WHEN Mr Teo Siong Seng, chief of Singapore's top Chinese business organisation, has lunch with head honchos these days, one topic never fails to surface - foreign workers. We need more of them, argue employers, who are in a huff over recent changes to tighten the inflow of foreign workers, especially those from China.
He rattles off their complaints.
Trucking companies get jittery when their China drivers head home, as they cannot find replacements and meet delivery deadlines.
Food manufacturers cannot fulfil orders because not enough locals want to work in their factories.
'They are concerned that getting additional workers is difficult, and renewing foreign workers' permits is difficult,' says Mr Teo,
president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a Nominated MP.
Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) chief executive Phillip Overmyer says these same worries also trouble hotels,
operators of convention facilities and retailers.
He believes the lack of foreign labour is expected to be a 'significant problem', especially when the two integrated resorts open
early next year.
This will mean the calls for more foreign workers are likely to grow louder.
But the Government cannot simply give in to such business demands, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong had said, explaining that it needed to strike a balance between the clamour by businesses for foreign workers and the cry by locals for jobs.
It is a delicate balancing act, he told Parliament last month.
Companies, however, insist they have tried, but failed, to attract locals.
But have Singapore companies become over-reliant on foreign workers who are viewed as cheaper alternatives to locals?
Why are they unable to find locals to fill these jobs, despite the downturn?
Can policymakers give some leeway to specified companies that cannot overcome their need for foreign workers?
How numbers are controlled
THE Government keeps a lid on foreign worker numbers in two ways: Setting a quota on how many foreigners on work permits can be hired in each sector and getting bosses to pay a levy for hiring them.
The latest changes on June 1 involve tweaking the quota.
What bosses are unhappy with is the new way of computing the number of workers allowed from 'non-traditional' sources like China.
Previously, to hire one China worker in the services sector, an employer needed to have five locals on the payroll.
Now, he must have nine workers before he can hire one China worker - at least five must be locals and the rest can be foreigners from 'traditional sources' like Malaysia.
Another change is the stricter requirements for China workers to qualify as skilled workers. They must have at least a diploma verified by the Chinese authorities, when previously there was none.
The main argument for tightening the controls, amid the global economic crisis, is that local employment will go up.
The move follows a rise in the locals' jobless rate to a five-year high of 4.8 per cent in March, which dipped to 4.6 per cent in June.
One assumption is bosses will be forced to consider Singaporeans when they cannot rely on foreign workers as an easier and cheaper alternative.
But is this sufficient to soak up more locals into the employment pool?
Some analysts believe the Government can go further to deter employers from hiring foreigners - by increasing the levy.
The monthly charge ranges from $150 per worker to $470, with employers paying a higher fee when hiring more of them or the less skilled.
Economist Choy Keen Meng feels the levy is not stiff enough.
'Employers are well able to pay the levy in a booming market,' says the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) don who is convinced this has led employers to hire them over locals.
He adds: 'This over-reliance was built up over the boom years from late-2004 when the economy was growing at 7 per cent to 9 per cent, beyond its potential rate of 4 per cent to 6 per cent.
'The Government has perhaps been a little too relaxed in terms of allowing foreign labour in, especially in the lower end of the skills scale.'
Addicted to foreign workers?
HAS this led to Singapore's over-reliance on foreign workers?
Looking at foreign worker figures, their numbers shot up by more than 40 per cent from 2004 to last year - rising at a much faster pace than local workers.
There are around one million of them, including employment pass holders, and they form about one-third of the total workforce.
But it is tough to tell whether there is over-reliance by numbers alone, as a record number of jobs were also created during those boom years, with too many jobs for locals to fill.
Employers also cry foul over such assertions, pinning some of the blame on locals who shun jobs which foreigners are willing to take.
At Suntec Convention Centre, the job of arranging chairs and cleaning dishes falls on a team of China workers.
In fact, all 21 workers in the banqueting team that prepares rooms for functions are from China.
Similarly, the 14-man team in the stewarding department, that sets the tableware and cleans them, has eight work permit holders from China.
As with many businesses that hire foreign workers, it insists it is not over- reliant on such workers.
'We just cannot find locals for these jobs,' says its human resource director Jacqueline Goh.
'We even tried the Yellow Ribbon,' she adds, referring to the campaign to give ex-offenders a second chance.
'They, very interestingly, came back to say there are no career prospects for our kind of jobs in stewarding.'
The few that applied for the $900-a-month job left after the second day. This is why employers are increasingly turning to foreign
workers, who are filling more jobs here.
Foreign workers form about 25 per cent of the nearly two million workers employed last year in the services sector, an increase from 22 per cent in 2006, according to latest official figures.
But the pool is greater in construction, where it rose from 61 per cent to 70 per cent, and manufacturing, where it climbed from 45 per cent to 51 per cent.
Most employers blame it on the inherently labour-intensive nature of their industries.
Hoteliers point to the need for personal service, from greeting guests at the front desk to tidying up the rooms and serving meals in a restaurant.
Says Mr Overmyer: 'There are devices to raise the bed, but you still need the housekeeper to pick up dirty towels and rearrange things in the room.'
Some industries, however, have reduced their reliance on foreign workers.
In recent years, the cleaning, landscaping and security industries, for instance, show that automation and job redesign with higher pay can draw locals.
Driven by the labour movement, cleaning contractors were further encouraged to automate when the 14 town councils run by the People's Action Party changed their way of awarding contracts, giving emphasis to quality instead of focusing only on price.
Their workers were trained and, with certified skills, were paid $1,000 a month - up from $750 - and given Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions.
It helped raise the proportion of locals to foreigners from 50:50, to 60:40, says Mr Albert Teng, coordinating secretary for the 14 PAP-run town councils.
Picky locals, poor wages
HOWEVER, not all locals are as accepting, which is a headache for employers like apparel maker Mark Lee.
The chief executive officer of SL Global hires China seamstresses to make the prototypes of complex attires such as running jackets with many unseen pockets and cycling shorts padded with gel.
But earlier this year, he hired some local seamstresses who had been laid off.
'They left after a week, saying the apparel is more complex than what they were used to,' he says. Their monthly pay was between $1,000 and $1,200.
Another oft-cited obstacle is working hours, with few locals willing to work on weekends, night shifts and public holidays. But these are inevitable in such service sectors as hotels, retail, and food and beverage outlets.
Other deterrents are stuffy and non-air-conditioned production floors, distance from home, lack of career advancement and the perception that service jobs are menial. Even in this downturn, jobs such as waiters, housekeepers and factory packers are going a-begging.
Riverview Hotel advertised last month for 10 positions, including waiters, technicians, housekeeping staff and kitchen assistants. Their monthly pay: about $750 for kitchen assistants, $900 for waiters and housekeeping staff, and $1,200 to $1,400 for technicians.
About 90 per cent of the 300 that applied were Filipinos, 5 per cent were from India, Vietnam, Myanmar and China, and 3 to 4 per cent from Malaysia. 'Only 1 to 2 per cent were Singaporeans,' said its human resource manager Christine Chan.
In contrast, 80 per cent of the 7,800 applications Marina Bay Sands received last month were from Singaporeans eyeing the more than 1,000 dealer positions in its casino.Employers attribute it to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) drumming up support for the recruitment drive of the two integrated resorts (IRs).
They also maintain they strive hard to attract locals, including advertising on job portals, taking part in job fairs, and working with
the WDA, community development councils and the labour movement to train and place workers.
Economists blame lousy wages as the chief culprit for locals' lack of interest.
In the boom years of 2004 to 2007, wages as a share of Singapore's gross domestic product fell to about 42 per cent from a high of 47 per cent in 2001, suggesting there was some under-paying of wages even though profits had risen.
Last year, the wage share rose to 44.9 per cent but it is an exception as profits tend to fall faster than wages in a downturn, notes
Associate Professor Hui Weng Tat of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
One way to force wages up is to curb the supply of foreign workers, says NTU's Associate Professor Choy.
'Let the market do the job. Higher wages will attract some locals and prompt firms to think about automation.'
Turning off the tap
BUT curbing the flow of foreign workers can lead to the loss of those trained.
More importantly, it can cause a loss of business opportunities.
Demand for Bengawan Solo's almond cookies and handmade pineapple tarts is high but the local bakery chain struggles to find locals to work as production operators in its factories for $900 a month.
Says its managing director Anastasia Liew: 'I have factory space in Malaysia which used to be rented out, but is now vacant. I may have to move out.'
When companies move overseas, there is inevitably a knock-on effect on suppliers and other related businesses - and, in turn, their Singaporean workers.
Economists, however, argue that it may be good for the economy for some businesses to leave.
Says Prof Hui: 'Then you can channel limited labour resources to higher value-added, more technologically advanced industries.'
Agreeing, Mr Overmyer notes the structural economic changes over the years and says: 'We don't assemble TVs any more. We do semiconductor wafer fabs, and now we are looking at wind machines and solar cells. We have to adjust constantly the level of support we give at the low end.'
But he argues that hotels, restaurants and retailers are in a different class. Singapore cannot ignore their needs given its
ambitions to be an alluring global city. 'It's a question of whether we need so many first class, highly rated hotels and whether we need two IRs. The answer apparently is 'yes', for Singapore to thrive.'
But the surge in the service sector is significant, points out NTUC deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob. 'There is a clear need to calibrate the policy on foreign workers, particularly in the service sector where the influx is so apparent and obvious today compared to just one or two years ago.'
But, she adds: 'In the manufacturing sector, where millions of dollars worth of investments are involved, foreign workers do fill the gaps in both numbers and skills that cannot be filled by our local workforce.'
Give special treatment
BUSINESSES hungry for manpower suggest that the Government set a more generous foreign worker quota for specified companies.
Such a targeted approach will iron out the wrinkles in the system of giving different quota entitlements to six sectors: manufacturing, services, construction, process, marine plus landscaping, agri-technology and incinerator plants.
Their proposed criteria for such special treatment would include the company's efforts in redesigning jobs to pay reasonable wages, automating their processes and recruiting locals plus back-to-work women and older workers.
But such a policy could be unwieldy to implement and potentially contentious, says Prof Hui. 'Almost every company will ask to be an exception.'
Another approach suggested by economists and businesses - and one that the Government is taking - is to be more discriminating on the supply side. Raise the skills bar continually, they urge, suggesting that qualifications, work experience and type of job be on the list of criteria for foreign workers. It would benefit employers of skilled workers in short supply but not those who rely on less-skilled workers in jobs shunned by locals.
Correspondingly, it would help achieve Singapore's long-term strategy to raise the workforce quality while allowing some businesses to grow.
On the national level, economists say Singapore needs to relook its dependence on foreign workers before the economy recovers.
It is an issue being considered by the high-level Economic Strategies Committee, which will give its key recommendations in January.
Says Prof Hui: 'Growth at any cost is not something we want.'
Likewise, NTU's Prof Choy believes it is 'good' to have a more sustainable growth rate.
'Automatically, the need for foreign workers will come down. As long as the policy is not changed, once the economy booms again, we are going to repeat all the mistakes,' he adds.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Bosses the weak link in crane accidents
The following article was published in The Straits Times on 11 September 2009.
Bosses the weak link in crane accidents
By JERMYN CHOW
The Straits Times
11/09/2009
A NATIONAL taskforce has found that bosses – both on the ground and in the office – were the No.1 reason behind crane accidents in the last few years.
Out of 40 investigated crane accidents between 2003 and 2007, 24 were caused by lapses among those in management positions.
At least seven men died and three were hurt in the 40 accidents, which involved mobile and tower cranes.
Those responsible included supervisors on the ground who failed to inspect cranes and worksites properly before work started, or who failed to supervise sufficiently crane operators who resorted to shortcuts and breaking the rules to get the job done fast.
Top suits, like chief executive officers and directors, were also culpable, said the National Crane Safety Taskforce. They failed to enforce proper safety plans before starting work and neglected to train workers to deal competently with cranes.
The high-level eight-member taskforce consisted of government safety officials, private contractors and crane operators.
It was formed in July after a spate of crane accidents at worksites during the construction boom of recent years.
Last year, there were 162 crane-related accidents, which resulted in the deaths of five people and left 139 injured. In 2007, four men died and 107 were injured.
Altogether there are 17,000 cranes in operation in Singapore, of which the mobile and tower cranes commonly found at construction sites and shipyards make up 20per cent.
The study also found that crane operators were another weak link in 23 of the 40 cases.
Most flouted safety rules, overloading the crane or ignoring warning alarms. Others were not properly briefed at best, or were unqualified at worst.
Other contributing factors to cranes toppling included faulty cranes and unsuitable worksite conditions, such as ground which was too soft to support the structures.
To bring down incident rates and improve crane safety, says taskforce chairman Tan Wee Seng, the managing director of construction firm Bovis Lend Lease, the taskforce plans to:
Improve the quality of training for crane operators and supervisors. This includes tightening training standards to ensure they meet national benchmarks.
Meet industry representatives, including crane manufacturers and owners, to discuss crane safety.
Relook the industry's code of practice and guidelines for crane users.
Develop a set of guidelines for contractors, crane suppliers and maintenance companies on how to keep cranes in mint condition.
Explore new technologies, like installing a black box similar to those on aircraft, to log crane operations.
Responding, Mr Kevin Teoh, deputy executive director of the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, cautioned against relying too much on legislation to spread the safety message.
"We will be promoting a cat and mouse game in which contractors will be up to mischief if the safety inspectors are not around," he said.
Instead, crane users should inculcate a safety first mindset.
Management compliance is the key, as it sets the tone for safety policies within the company, Mr Teoh said: "Ultimately, the buck stops at the bosses as they can do more to identify safety gaps and make work processes safer."
Taskforce member Chan Yew Kwong, a deputy director with the Manpower Ministry's Occupational Safety and Health Division, noted: "You may have the best equipment but more importantly, its about having the right people to do the job and not taking shortcuts."
The taskforce will be rolling out more recommendations early next year.
Bosses the weak link in crane accidents
By JERMYN CHOW
The Straits Times
11/09/2009
A NATIONAL taskforce has found that bosses – both on the ground and in the office – were the No.1 reason behind crane accidents in the last few years.
Out of 40 investigated crane accidents between 2003 and 2007, 24 were caused by lapses among those in management positions.
At least seven men died and three were hurt in the 40 accidents, which involved mobile and tower cranes.
Those responsible included supervisors on the ground who failed to inspect cranes and worksites properly before work started, or who failed to supervise sufficiently crane operators who resorted to shortcuts and breaking the rules to get the job done fast.
Top suits, like chief executive officers and directors, were also culpable, said the National Crane Safety Taskforce. They failed to enforce proper safety plans before starting work and neglected to train workers to deal competently with cranes.
The high-level eight-member taskforce consisted of government safety officials, private contractors and crane operators.
It was formed in July after a spate of crane accidents at worksites during the construction boom of recent years.
Last year, there were 162 crane-related accidents, which resulted in the deaths of five people and left 139 injured. In 2007, four men died and 107 were injured.
Altogether there are 17,000 cranes in operation in Singapore, of which the mobile and tower cranes commonly found at construction sites and shipyards make up 20per cent.
The study also found that crane operators were another weak link in 23 of the 40 cases.
Most flouted safety rules, overloading the crane or ignoring warning alarms. Others were not properly briefed at best, or were unqualified at worst.
Other contributing factors to cranes toppling included faulty cranes and unsuitable worksite conditions, such as ground which was too soft to support the structures.
To bring down incident rates and improve crane safety, says taskforce chairman Tan Wee Seng, the managing director of construction firm Bovis Lend Lease, the taskforce plans to:
Improve the quality of training for crane operators and supervisors. This includes tightening training standards to ensure they meet national benchmarks.
Meet industry representatives, including crane manufacturers and owners, to discuss crane safety.
Relook the industry's code of practice and guidelines for crane users.
Develop a set of guidelines for contractors, crane suppliers and maintenance companies on how to keep cranes in mint condition.
Explore new technologies, like installing a black box similar to those on aircraft, to log crane operations.
Responding, Mr Kevin Teoh, deputy executive director of the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, cautioned against relying too much on legislation to spread the safety message.
"We will be promoting a cat and mouse game in which contractors will be up to mischief if the safety inspectors are not around," he said.
Instead, crane users should inculcate a safety first mindset.
Management compliance is the key, as it sets the tone for safety policies within the company, Mr Teoh said: "Ultimately, the buck stops at the bosses as they can do more to identify safety gaps and make work processes safer."
Taskforce member Chan Yew Kwong, a deputy director with the Manpower Ministry's Occupational Safety and Health Division, noted: "You may have the best equipment but more importantly, its about having the right people to do the job and not taking shortcuts."
The taskforce will be rolling out more recommendations early next year.
National taskforce formed to improve safety of crane operations
The following article was published by Channel NewsAsia on 11 Sept 2009.
National taskforce formed to improve safety of crane operations
Channel NewsAsia - Friday, September 11
SINGAPORE : A national taskforce has been formed to improve the safety of crane operations.
The taskforce is led by Tan Wee Seng, Managing Director of Bovis Lend Lease and includes members from various stakeholder groups, including the government, industry and suppliers.
It will work with the Workplace Safety and Health Council, and the Manpower Ministry to improve crane safety, and reduce fatalities and injury rates.
Last year, there were 162 crane—related fatalities, injuries and dangerous incidents — a 27 per cent increase from 128 cases in 2007.
The Workplace Safety and Health Council said while most of the cases involve less serious non—fatal injuries, crane incidents could potentially lead to massive and severe damage to both physical properties and human lives.
For a start, the taskforce has reviewed 40 crane incidents that occurred over the years and identified important learning points and areas of improvements.
Among the factors that led to crane incidents are lack of adequate training and safety procedures, workers’ failure to follow safety rules, failure of crane components, insufficient checks and measures to address ground conditions.
Human factor was identified as a contributing cause for 23 cases. The main concern in this area is the violation of safety rules and regulations by individual workers.
This includes bypassing limit switches, ignoring warning alarms, as well as failing to check load charts and comply with safe work procedures.
Other concerns include unintentional human errors and the lack of knowledge or information on the weight of the load being lifted.
Another factor relates to machinery — a contributing cause for 14 of the cases — where machine components failed to function properly.
The most common component failures are wire ropes and limit switches. Two reasons identified were the lack of maintenance and the improper use of cranes.
Other factors like ground stability were responsible for 9 incidents. This includes grounds that were too weak or too inclined to support crane operations safely.
Ground stability can also be affected by changes in weather and by other ongoing works such as excavation in the vicinity.
Safety measures such as the adequate use of steel plates and constant monitoring of ground conditions were found lacking in these cases.
Employers were identified in 25 cases of crane incidents, where the lack of site assessment, inadequate supervision, the lack of established and implemented safe work procedures and a lack of worker training contributed to the incidents.
The taskforce will embark on a three—pronged strategy to improve crane safety. These include enhancing training, greater outreach efforts to top management, crane manufacturers and operators and reviewing codes of practice.
The taskforce will provide further updates on its progress early next year. — CNA /ls
National taskforce formed to improve safety of crane operations
Channel NewsAsia - Friday, September 11
SINGAPORE : A national taskforce has been formed to improve the safety of crane operations.
The taskforce is led by Tan Wee Seng, Managing Director of Bovis Lend Lease and includes members from various stakeholder groups, including the government, industry and suppliers.
It will work with the Workplace Safety and Health Council, and the Manpower Ministry to improve crane safety, and reduce fatalities and injury rates.
Last year, there were 162 crane—related fatalities, injuries and dangerous incidents — a 27 per cent increase from 128 cases in 2007.
The Workplace Safety and Health Council said while most of the cases involve less serious non—fatal injuries, crane incidents could potentially lead to massive and severe damage to both physical properties and human lives.
For a start, the taskforce has reviewed 40 crane incidents that occurred over the years and identified important learning points and areas of improvements.
Among the factors that led to crane incidents are lack of adequate training and safety procedures, workers’ failure to follow safety rules, failure of crane components, insufficient checks and measures to address ground conditions.
Human factor was identified as a contributing cause for 23 cases. The main concern in this area is the violation of safety rules and regulations by individual workers.
This includes bypassing limit switches, ignoring warning alarms, as well as failing to check load charts and comply with safe work procedures.
Other concerns include unintentional human errors and the lack of knowledge or information on the weight of the load being lifted.
Another factor relates to machinery — a contributing cause for 14 of the cases — where machine components failed to function properly.
The most common component failures are wire ropes and limit switches. Two reasons identified were the lack of maintenance and the improper use of cranes.
Other factors like ground stability were responsible for 9 incidents. This includes grounds that were too weak or too inclined to support crane operations safely.
Ground stability can also be affected by changes in weather and by other ongoing works such as excavation in the vicinity.
Safety measures such as the adequate use of steel plates and constant monitoring of ground conditions were found lacking in these cases.
Employers were identified in 25 cases of crane incidents, where the lack of site assessment, inadequate supervision, the lack of established and implemented safe work procedures and a lack of worker training contributed to the incidents.
The taskforce will embark on a three—pronged strategy to improve crane safety. These include enhancing training, greater outreach efforts to top management, crane manufacturers and operators and reviewing codes of practice.
The taskforce will provide further updates on its progress early next year. — CNA /ls
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Husband claims dead wife abused by Singapore employer
The following article, which appeared in the Jakarta Post, was posted on AsiaOne on 9 Sept 2009.
HUSBAND CLAIMS DEAD WIFE ABUSED BY SINGAPORE EMPLOYER
She died from a swollen stomach after returning from S'pore. -The Jakarta Post/ANN
Wed, Sep 09, 2009
The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
Husband of a North Sulawesi migrant worker has claimed his wife died after being abused by her employer in Singapore.
Herman Nangin said his wife, Upriyanti Kasim, who returned home from Singapore, was dead from swollen stomach in the National Police Hospital on Sunday.
"My wife suffered a prolonged headache as she was beaten by family members of her employer in Singapore," he said as quoted by Kompas.com, adding his wife's employer sometimes punched her nose.
Herman said he had asked his wife to go home after several abuses but she never made it until last week.
The North Sulawesi branch of PT Manpower Indonesia manager, Geertje Mekel, said he would accompany Upriyanti family to unravel the case as part of his responsibility.
He denied his firm had pressurized Upriyanti to say good things about her employer.
HUSBAND CLAIMS DEAD WIFE ABUSED BY SINGAPORE EMPLOYER
She died from a swollen stomach after returning from S'pore. -The Jakarta Post/ANN
Wed, Sep 09, 2009
The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
Husband of a North Sulawesi migrant worker has claimed his wife died after being abused by her employer in Singapore.
Herman Nangin said his wife, Upriyanti Kasim, who returned home from Singapore, was dead from swollen stomach in the National Police Hospital on Sunday.
"My wife suffered a prolonged headache as she was beaten by family members of her employer in Singapore," he said as quoted by Kompas.com, adding his wife's employer sometimes punched her nose.
Herman said he had asked his wife to go home after several abuses but she never made it until last week.
The North Sulawesi branch of PT Manpower Indonesia manager, Geertje Mekel, said he would accompany Upriyanti family to unravel the case as part of his responsibility.
He denied his firm had pressurized Upriyanti to say good things about her employer.
Friday, September 4, 2009
202 cases of lorries breaking new rules
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 4 Sept 2009.
202 cases of lorries breaking new rules
By Teh Joo Lin
4 September 2009
Straits Times
Among violations are breaching of height limit and ferrying of more workers than allowed
IN THREE days, 202 lorry owners and drivers have been caught for flouting rules on the transporting of workers on cargo decks of lorries.
Land Transport Authority (LTA) officers have been out enforcing the new rules, which kicked in on Tuesday.
They have checked 1,600 lorries since then, and found one in eight lorries flouting one rule or another; some broke more than one.
Enforcement operations have taken place along the Bukit Timah Expressway, Benoi Road in Tuas and Loyang Road near Changi, stretches heavily utilised by lorries ferrying people to and from worksites.
A total of 114 summonses were for breaching the height limit. Workers are supposed to be seated no higher than 1.1m off the cargo deck. The fine for this transgression is $200.
Another 86 summonses were handed out to drivers who failed to ensure that the front cabin was filled before putting the rest of the passengers in the back. The fine for this is also $200.
Another 24 summonses were given out to lorries carrying more passengers than they were supposed to. Four lorry owners among those issued summonses will be taken to court for far exceeding the vehicles' carrying capacity.
If each worker on board has less than 0.372 sq m of space, the minimum fine is $500, up from $200 in the past.
The LTA invited reporters to observe its officers on bike patrol along Pioneer Road, a hot spot, yesterday.
From 6am, summonses were slapped on seven lorry drivers within the hour. One was booked for carrying all his workers in the back although there was still space in the cabin, and the other six for seating the workers too high.
It is common for lorry owners to install planks on the cargo deck of their lorries so workers can sit more comfortably.
However, the elevation may increase the odds of them getting flung out if the side railings are not high enough.
In past collisions, the planks have also become dislodged and hit those sitting on them.
When contacted, lorry driver Alan Lee, 41, who had been fined for not filling up the cabin seats, said he knew of the tightened rules 'but I forgot today because we were in a rush to reach the shipyard on time'.
He said many drivers were still unclear about the new measures, which come on top of existing rules like the one on maximum carrying capacity.
To raise awareness of the new rules, LTA officers handed out stickers on the height limit and the filling of the front seats.
The first of these were pasted on the lorries stopped yesterday.
LTA director of services and investigations Tan Hiok Seng urged lorry owners and employers to ensure that drivers comply with the rules before they set out on their journeys.
By 2012, all lorries that ferry workers must also be outfitted with higher side railings and canopies. Newly registered lorries must do so by next January.
Those who spot lorries breaking the rules on the roads may call 1800-CALL-LTA.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
202 cases of lorries breaking new rules
By Teh Joo Lin
4 September 2009
Straits Times
Among violations are breaching of height limit and ferrying of more workers than allowed
IN THREE days, 202 lorry owners and drivers have been caught for flouting rules on the transporting of workers on cargo decks of lorries.
Land Transport Authority (LTA) officers have been out enforcing the new rules, which kicked in on Tuesday.
They have checked 1,600 lorries since then, and found one in eight lorries flouting one rule or another; some broke more than one.
Enforcement operations have taken place along the Bukit Timah Expressway, Benoi Road in Tuas and Loyang Road near Changi, stretches heavily utilised by lorries ferrying people to and from worksites.
A total of 114 summonses were for breaching the height limit. Workers are supposed to be seated no higher than 1.1m off the cargo deck. The fine for this transgression is $200.
Another 86 summonses were handed out to drivers who failed to ensure that the front cabin was filled before putting the rest of the passengers in the back. The fine for this is also $200.
Another 24 summonses were given out to lorries carrying more passengers than they were supposed to. Four lorry owners among those issued summonses will be taken to court for far exceeding the vehicles' carrying capacity.
If each worker on board has less than 0.372 sq m of space, the minimum fine is $500, up from $200 in the past.
The LTA invited reporters to observe its officers on bike patrol along Pioneer Road, a hot spot, yesterday.
From 6am, summonses were slapped on seven lorry drivers within the hour. One was booked for carrying all his workers in the back although there was still space in the cabin, and the other six for seating the workers too high.
It is common for lorry owners to install planks on the cargo deck of their lorries so workers can sit more comfortably.
However, the elevation may increase the odds of them getting flung out if the side railings are not high enough.
In past collisions, the planks have also become dislodged and hit those sitting on them.
When contacted, lorry driver Alan Lee, 41, who had been fined for not filling up the cabin seats, said he knew of the tightened rules 'but I forgot today because we were in a rush to reach the shipyard on time'.
He said many drivers were still unclear about the new measures, which come on top of existing rules like the one on maximum carrying capacity.
To raise awareness of the new rules, LTA officers handed out stickers on the height limit and the filling of the front seats.
The first of these were pasted on the lorries stopped yesterday.
LTA director of services and investigations Tan Hiok Seng urged lorry owners and employers to ensure that drivers comply with the rules before they set out on their journeys.
By 2012, all lorries that ferry workers must also be outfitted with higher side railings and canopies. Newly registered lorries must do so by next January.
Those who spot lorries breaking the rules on the roads may call 1800-CALL-LTA.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
202 lorry drivers fined over three days
The following article was published in TODAY on 4 Sept 2009.
LTA fines 202 in three days
4 September 2009
TODAY
OVER three days of intensified checks, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) nabbed 202 lorry drivers and owners — most of whom appeared confused as to why they were being pulled over.
They had flouted new regulations aimed at reducing the risk of workers being thrown out from the rear carriage in a collision.
The checks, which ended yesterday, were carried out after the LTA rolled out a set of stricter rules on Tuesday. Several locations such as Pioneer Road, Benoi Road and Loyang Road were targeted.
Some 114 drivers stopped were carrying workers seated higher than the allowable height of 1.1m from the lorry’s carriage deck. For this, the workers’ employer could be fined $200.
Eighty-six drivers also failed to fill up all the passenger seats in the cabin. For that they could also be fined $200.
Carrying excess workers exceeding 25 per cet of the allowable number carried a stiffer penalty — prosecution in court. For that, four were stopped. Carrying excess workers not exceeding a quarter of the allowable number carried also means court action for subsequent offences. A first offence carries a $500 fine. Twenty drivers were rapped for this.
Those who failed to display the Maximum Passenger Capacity label or did so incorrectly could be fined $100 for each offence.
Stickers on these safety measures will be distributed from this month to lorry owners, workers’ dormitories and work sites.
LTA officers will continue to conduct daily patrols to ensure that lorry drivers adhere to the new measures.
Members of the public are also encouraged to call LTA’s hotline at 1800-CALL LTA (1800-2255 5582) to report any instances of non-compliance spotted on the road.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
LTA fines 202 in three days
4 September 2009
TODAY
OVER three days of intensified checks, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) nabbed 202 lorry drivers and owners — most of whom appeared confused as to why they were being pulled over.
They had flouted new regulations aimed at reducing the risk of workers being thrown out from the rear carriage in a collision.
The checks, which ended yesterday, were carried out after the LTA rolled out a set of stricter rules on Tuesday. Several locations such as Pioneer Road, Benoi Road and Loyang Road were targeted.
Some 114 drivers stopped were carrying workers seated higher than the allowable height of 1.1m from the lorry’s carriage deck. For this, the workers’ employer could be fined $200.
Eighty-six drivers also failed to fill up all the passenger seats in the cabin. For that they could also be fined $200.
Carrying excess workers exceeding 25 per cet of the allowable number carried a stiffer penalty — prosecution in court. For that, four were stopped. Carrying excess workers not exceeding a quarter of the allowable number carried also means court action for subsequent offences. A first offence carries a $500 fine. Twenty drivers were rapped for this.
Those who failed to display the Maximum Passenger Capacity label or did so incorrectly could be fined $100 for each offence.
Stickers on these safety measures will be distributed from this month to lorry owners, workers’ dormitories and work sites.
LTA officers will continue to conduct daily patrols to ensure that lorry drivers adhere to the new measures.
Members of the public are also encouraged to call LTA’s hotline at 1800-CALL LTA (1800-2255 5582) to report any instances of non-compliance spotted on the road.
(c) 2009. MediaCorp Press Ltd.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Migrant Workers Centre opens at Rangoon Road
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 2 Sept 2009.
NEW CENTRE FOR FOREIGN WORKERS
By Nicholas Yong
Sep 2, 2009
Straits Times
THE Migrant Workers Centre (MWC), a bipartite effort of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), now has a new office to call its home.
From Thursday, the MWC will occupy a 1,200 square foot unit at 62 Rangoon Road. The centre can also be converted into a temporary shelter for homeless migrant workers who cannot be housed in dormitories immediately.
Since its inception, the MWC has touched the lives of over 350 migrant workers from countries such as China, India and Bangladesh. These workers have sought advice from the MWC, received food and housing assistance, or join activities which help them to integrate more easily into the Singapore society.
MWC has also tied up with NTUC LearningHub (LHub) to develop a basic conversational English enrichment course for migrant workers so that they are able to speak a common language with those they interact with on a daily basis. The MWC is targeting to get at least 1,000 migrant workers to take up the course by March 2010.
Suitable candidates will only need to pay $30 to$40, with support from LHub, MWC and employers.
Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower, who officially opened the centre on Wednesday said: 'This is an important milestone, signalling the commitment by both employers and unions in reaching out to migrant workers here.
'The physical premises will allow MWC to truly be a one-stop point for foreign workers to seek advice and assistance."
In the coming months, MWC plans to organise more activities for migrant workers here. For example, there will be monthly lunch sessions with migrant workers. MWC will partner local restaurants to provide free meals.
Migrant workers seeking help can call the hotline 6536 2692.
NEW CENTRE FOR FOREIGN WORKERS
By Nicholas Yong
Sep 2, 2009
Straits Times
THE Migrant Workers Centre (MWC), a bipartite effort of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), now has a new office to call its home.
From Thursday, the MWC will occupy a 1,200 square foot unit at 62 Rangoon Road. The centre can also be converted into a temporary shelter for homeless migrant workers who cannot be housed in dormitories immediately.
Since its inception, the MWC has touched the lives of over 350 migrant workers from countries such as China, India and Bangladesh. These workers have sought advice from the MWC, received food and housing assistance, or join activities which help them to integrate more easily into the Singapore society.
MWC has also tied up with NTUC LearningHub (LHub) to develop a basic conversational English enrichment course for migrant workers so that they are able to speak a common language with those they interact with on a daily basis. The MWC is targeting to get at least 1,000 migrant workers to take up the course by March 2010.
Suitable candidates will only need to pay $30 to$40, with support from LHub, MWC and employers.
Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower, who officially opened the centre on Wednesday said: 'This is an important milestone, signalling the commitment by both employers and unions in reaching out to migrant workers here.
'The physical premises will allow MWC to truly be a one-stop point for foreign workers to seek advice and assistance."
In the coming months, MWC plans to organise more activities for migrant workers here. For example, there will be monthly lunch sessions with migrant workers. MWC will partner local restaurants to provide free meals.
Migrant workers seeking help can call the hotline 6536 2692.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Most lorries follow new rules for ferrying workers... but not this lorry
The following article was published in the Straits Times on 2 Sept 2009.
Most lorries follow new rules for ferrying workers... but not this lorry
By Teh Joo Lin & Wendy Hui
2 September 2009
Straits Times
Workers in 49 cases are seated higher than the side railings of lorries
COMPANIES transporting their workers on the back of lorries seem to be following the stricter rules which kicked in yesterday.
Four in five of 215 lorries observed over 30 minutes from 7.30am had workers seated on the floor of the cargo decks or on low planks, which reduced the risk of their being flung out in a collision.
These lorries were plying the Bukit Timah Expressway near the Rifle Range flyover and the Pan Island Expressway outside Catholic Junior College during the morning rush hour.
But The Straits Times counted 49 suspicious cases. In many, the workers were seated too high - higher than the side railings, the side boards or even the roof of the front cabin.
They were perched on metal crates, plastic chairs or work equipment, and looked to be seated more than 1.1m from the cargo deck.
This could result in a fine of $200.
The height limit is one rule which took effect yesterday. The changes aimed at improving the safety of workers riding on the back of lorries were unveiled two weeks ago, following public discussion and government deliberation.
Another new rule requires passenger cabins to be filled up before workers can occupy the cargo decks.
Heavier fines have also been put in place for breaching pre-existing rules, such as ferrying more workers than is allowed. The carrying capacity of each lorry is derived by allotting 0.372 sq m of space to each worker. Those who flout this rule may be fined $500, up from $200 in the past.
Along with the tighter rules and higher fines has come stringent enforcement. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) did not disclose the number of summonses issued yesterday, but its spokesman confirmed that enforcement was being stepped up.
She added that employers should take these measures seriously, and that the drivers of these lorries should look out for their charges.
When contacted, two companies whose workers appeared to have flouted the height limit yesterday claimed they were unaware of the new regulations.
The owner of a civil engineering firm, who said he would seat his workers safely when told of the rules, said: 'I didn't receive any letter from the LTA regarding the new height limit... I got only the letter about the railings and canopies, but that's for 2010.'
He was referring to the requirement that all new lorries used for transporting workers be fitted with higher side railings and canopies. By 2012, all lorries that ferry workers must comply with this, and also provide twice the current deck area for each worker.
Companies whose workers travelled safely yesterday said they had briefed their workers and drivers.
Mr B. Gurumurthy, who runs Landscape Engineering, said he would retrofit his six lorries with higher railings and canopies ahead of the three-year deadline. It will cost him $20,000, but he figured this was still less than paying compensation to a worker injured while on the move.
Referring to the recent case in which an employer paid $50,000 in compensation to one such worker, he said: 'I'd rather spend that amount of money to ensure my workers are safe to begin with.'
Anyone who spots workers being ferried in a dangerous manner can call the LTA hotline on 1800-CALL-LTA.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Most lorries follow new rules for ferrying workers... but not this lorry
By Teh Joo Lin & Wendy Hui
2 September 2009
Straits Times
Workers in 49 cases are seated higher than the side railings of lorries
COMPANIES transporting their workers on the back of lorries seem to be following the stricter rules which kicked in yesterday.
Four in five of 215 lorries observed over 30 minutes from 7.30am had workers seated on the floor of the cargo decks or on low planks, which reduced the risk of their being flung out in a collision.
These lorries were plying the Bukit Timah Expressway near the Rifle Range flyover and the Pan Island Expressway outside Catholic Junior College during the morning rush hour.
But The Straits Times counted 49 suspicious cases. In many, the workers were seated too high - higher than the side railings, the side boards or even the roof of the front cabin.
They were perched on metal crates, plastic chairs or work equipment, and looked to be seated more than 1.1m from the cargo deck.
This could result in a fine of $200.
The height limit is one rule which took effect yesterday. The changes aimed at improving the safety of workers riding on the back of lorries were unveiled two weeks ago, following public discussion and government deliberation.
Another new rule requires passenger cabins to be filled up before workers can occupy the cargo decks.
Heavier fines have also been put in place for breaching pre-existing rules, such as ferrying more workers than is allowed. The carrying capacity of each lorry is derived by allotting 0.372 sq m of space to each worker. Those who flout this rule may be fined $500, up from $200 in the past.
Along with the tighter rules and higher fines has come stringent enforcement. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) did not disclose the number of summonses issued yesterday, but its spokesman confirmed that enforcement was being stepped up.
She added that employers should take these measures seriously, and that the drivers of these lorries should look out for their charges.
When contacted, two companies whose workers appeared to have flouted the height limit yesterday claimed they were unaware of the new regulations.
The owner of a civil engineering firm, who said he would seat his workers safely when told of the rules, said: 'I didn't receive any letter from the LTA regarding the new height limit... I got only the letter about the railings and canopies, but that's for 2010.'
He was referring to the requirement that all new lorries used for transporting workers be fitted with higher side railings and canopies. By 2012, all lorries that ferry workers must comply with this, and also provide twice the current deck area for each worker.
Companies whose workers travelled safely yesterday said they had briefed their workers and drivers.
Mr B. Gurumurthy, who runs Landscape Engineering, said he would retrofit his six lorries with higher railings and canopies ahead of the three-year deadline. It will cost him $20,000, but he figured this was still less than paying compensation to a worker injured while on the move.
Referring to the recent case in which an employer paid $50,000 in compensation to one such worker, he said: 'I'd rather spend that amount of money to ensure my workers are safe to begin with.'
Anyone who spots workers being ferried in a dangerous manner can call the LTA hotline on 1800-CALL-LTA.
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
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