AMNESTY FOR DISMISSED FOREIGN WORKERS

Mr Simon S C Tay asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Government will offer recently dismissed foreign workers who have overstayed in Singapore a period of amnesty to report for repatriation to their home countries.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, foreigners whose work or visit passes have expired must leave Singapore and not stay on illegally here. Singapore is a small country with limited resources. We cannot afford to allow people to disregard our laws and stay on illegally, because such overstayers would impose a strain on our social system, leading to law and order problems.

The Government has no intention to grant an amnesty to foreign workers who overstay. It would send the wrong signal to potential immigration offenders that they will be forgiven when they commit immigration offences in Singapore. This would erode the deterrent effect of our immigration laws and enforcement action, and lead to a more severe overstaying problem in the longer run.

Mr Simon S C Tay (Nominated Member): Sir, if a work permit is now cancelled in this present economic downturn, is there any grace period allowed at all for the person who turns himself in?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Let me inform Mr Tay that since he filed the Question in July for the August sitting - I think there was a spate of publicity about workers whose employers no longer require them to work in Singapore and their work permits were cancelled; some of the workers did not know; they had accommodation problems and workers were on the streets - the Ministry of Manpower together with the Ministry of Home Affairs and other agencies have worked together to tighten up the procedures, so that the workflow is now better. If a worker is no longer needed in Singapore, steps are taken to repatriate him as expeditiously as possible.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Sir, has the Minister of State overlooked that the question relates to dismissed workers. I raised this sometime ago. What is the Government's policy when the workers are made illegal by the company dismissing them before their time is up and who have claims against the company for back pay or for other payments? Does the Government allow them to stay in Singapore to pursue their claims and recover what they can recover from the company or are they sent packing home?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, this area has also been looked at. MOM has also looked into processing the claims more expeditiously. They have strengthened their conciliation processes, so that it now takes a shorter time for these claims to be considered. And if the workers are still not happy, they can go for adjudication before the Labour Court. In the event that the worker still wants to take his claim to the civil court, he will be given enough time to file his claim in Singapore and instruct counsel.