DEFAULT IN PAYMENT OF FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS' SALARIES

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DEFAULT IN PAYMENT OF FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS' SALARIES: 13.

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the percentage of the total number of employers of Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) who defaulted on payment of their FDWs' monthly salaries in 2007, 2008 and 2009; (b) what measures does the Ministry have in place to ensure that FDWs' salaries are paid on time; and (c) will the Ministry consider implementing a centralised electronic tracking system to ensure that salaries of FDWs are paid on time.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Manpower (Mr Hawazi Daipi) (for the Minister for Manpower): Sir, the Ministry of Manpower has put in place measures to safeguard the well-being of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Singapore. This includes ensuring that FDWs are paid their salaries promptly. We do this through regulation, accreditation and outreach.

Our Work Permit conditions require employers to pay FDWs their monthly salaries not later than seven days after the last day of the salary period.

Employers are also obliged to pay FDWs their salaries via a direct fund transfer into the worker’s Singapore bank account, if the FDW requests such payment. Employers who fail to comply with the Work Permit conditions can be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed up to six months. They can also be barred from hiring another FDW.

In addition, the two employment agency accreditation bodies – the Association of Employment Agencies of Singapore and CaseTrust – have introduced a standard employment contract for FDWs since 2006. The standard contract

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provides a template for employers to record the schedule of salary payments and for FDWs to acknowledge the amounts received. The standard contract also requires employers to stipulate the mode of salary payments, ensuring FDWs are fully aware of their employment terms when they sign the contract.

We ensure that FDWs understand their right to receive salaries promptly. During the Safety Awareness Course that all first-time FDWs are required to attend, FDWs are informed of their legal rights including the prompt payment of their salaries, and are given a postage paid envelope addressed directly to MOM for them to report employment malpractices and abuses. In addition, the Ministry of Manpower conducts random audits on FDWs to ensure their continued well-being. We have also set up a dedicated helpline for FDWs to reach MOM officers.

As a result of our efforts, the proportion of FDWs in Singapore who had reported salary arrears has been low at about 0.1% of FDWs in Singapore. The numbers have also been falling from 276 in 2007 to 241 last year, despite an increase in the number of FDWs. There is therefore no need for MOM to implement a tracking system for salary payments at this point.

Mr Christopher de Souza: Thank you, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, for the comprehensive answer. The 0.1% statistic is indeed encouraging. My clarification is coming out of that 0.1% statistic, which are the reported cases. Of course, there may be instances where a FDW is not paid and does not report, and that is where my clarification lies. Does MOM agree that there is less incentive for a FDW who has not been paid to report, given that she is reporting against her employer who has to pay her salary? Therefore, if there is an increase in the statistic, would MOM consider the tracking mechanism that has been suggested?

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Mr Hawazi Daipi: Thank you for the question. As I have said, the number of FDWs who have reported that they have not been paid their salaries promptly or for a long period of time is really very small. We have enhanced our attempts to reach out to them to help them. Apart from that, as I said earlier, there are also the legal and regulatory measures to safeguard the FDWs' well-being. We require employment agencies to use the standard contract, which is a condition for the renewal of their licence annually. We expect the employment agencies to include in the standard contract a clause on salary payment mode. The standard contract, which is signed both by the employer and the FDW, has raised the awareness of the FDWs of their rights to salary payment promptly. FDWs are also informed about how to reach MOM offices should they need assistance.

Of course, there may have been cases of employers who got away with not paying their FDWs over a period of time. Through complaints from FDWs during our random audits, we may discover some of these cases from time to time. But we go by the fact that last year, only 0.12% of around 196,000 FDWs in Singapore complained to us about their salaries not being paid or not being paid promptly, and conclude that the electronic tracking mechanism is not needed now.