TODAY, 31 Dec 2008
Are these workers just the tip of the iceberg?
By Leong Wee Keat
IN WHAT is becoming a familiar sight, a group of about 200 China national workers turned up at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday morning to complain about unauthorised salary deductions and wages owed to them. A group of 28 Bangladeshi workers have also filed similarcomplaints, claiming they had not been paid for the past four months.
Far from being isolated headline makers, recent reports of workers being left in the lurch seem to be the tip of an iceberg.
And the economic crunch, which has led to a swelling excess of manpower in many sectors, is bringing to the surface like never before underhanded practices — such as unsanctioned deductions, illegal deployment of workers and strong-arm tactics by employers during conciliation attempts.
Mr Zhai Yongli, one of the 200 workers at the MOM yesterday, was fearful he would have no money to send home for next month’s Chinese New Year. Like his fellow workers, the 36-year-old alleged that his employer made unauthorised deductions from his salary each month, supposedly for a “deposit” — a sum that has amounted to $8,000 so far.
Other workers from Zhonghe Huaxing Development and China Nuclear Industry Huaxing Construction claimed they were not paid for three months and that they had been subcontracted to other employers without their knowledge. When approached by TODAY, their employer, Mr Ye Fuliang, declined comment.
The China Nationals’ case echoes another high-profile case two weeks ago, when 179 :Bangladeshi workers were abandoned with months of wages unpaid; their registered employer is being probed for illegally deploying them.
TODAY understands that it is not uncommon practice for contractors or employers to bring in more workers than they need, then deploy them out illicitly to another sector for a kickback. But with the downturn and work drying up, these excess workers are left sitting on their hands.
Happily, for the 200 Chinese workers, a MOM spokesperson said late last night that the dispute had been “amicably” resolved – the employers yesterday banked in September’s wages into the workers’ accounts, and have pledged to make good on all arrears by the Chinese New Year, with the first instalment next week.
“The parties have also reached an understanding on other differences,” said the spokesperson.
Strong-arm tactics
Meanwhile, the Bangladeshis who had approached MOM yesterday claimed: they feared repatriation by their employer if they returned to their dormitory. The group of 28 have been sleeping along Desker Road for the past three nights.
Some employers have cancelled work permits even as pay disputes are being settled with MOM – presumably to pressure workers to cave in.
In October and November, 42 PRC workers from Xuyi Building Engineering Company approached MOM to recover their salary arrears and resolve penalty payments. According to MOM, the company unilaterally cancelled the work permits of six claimants, without applying for Special Passes to allow them to remain here pending the settlement of their claims. The six would have thus flouted immigration laws, and could be jailed and fined.
“MOM takes a serious view of such conduct by the employer, which jeopardizes the conciliation process,” said a spokesman. The employer was warned for failing to pay its workers on time, and “its irresponsible conduct” of cancelling the permits.
What such examples show, is that foreign worker’s situation is “quite precarious”, in Madam Halimah Yacob’s words.
“They can only work for one employer. So when they don’t get paid, and they owe creditors back home, they keep quiet, hoping that things will get better. They can’t walk out of the job like the Singaporean can, find another job and file a complaint with MOM,” said the MP who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Manpower.
She called: on MOM to step up enforcement against rogue employers and to review the foreign workers’ quota – fixed during times of good economic growth – to prevent similar situations from cropping up next year and in 2010.
MP Denise Phua said more agencies should be engaged in solving foreign-worker woes. “The final, total solution needs to be stitched not just by MOM, but with the relevant foreign embassies and other stakeholders like employers’ federations and NTUC ... from ensuring basics like food and lodging, to job placements where possible,” she said.
URL:http://www.todayonline.com/articles/295024.asp
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