ABUSE OF WORKERS AND VIOLATION OF EMPLOYMENT ACT (Action against employers)

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ABUSE OF WORKERS AND VIOLATION OF EMPLOYMENT ACT:

(Action against employers): 6.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Acting Minister for Manpower in view of recent media reports of abuse of workers by some employers, (a) how many workers have filed claims against employers for failure to pay wages or other benefits; (b) how many of these claims were successful and what was the total amount recovered; (c) how many employers have been prosecuted for violations of the Employment Act; and (d) what steps have been taken by the Ministry to enforce the labour laws and prevent abuses and violations.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Acting Minister for Manpower (Mr Hawazi Daipi: ) (

for the Acting Minister for Manpower: ): Sir, in 2003, a total of 10,232 local and foreign non-unionised workers sought the assistance of the Ministry's Labour Relations Department and filed claims/complaints against their employers for failure to pay wages and other benefits. None were received in the case of unionised workers. This was presumably due to effective

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representation on their behalf by their unions.

In the non-unionised sector, a total of 11,321 workers, including those who lodged their claims in 2002, had their cases concluded in 2003. Among these workers, 17% (1,875) of the workers had no valid claims and another 18% (2,078) did not pursue their claims as they were able to reach a private settlement with their employers following consultation with the Ministry, or withdrew their cases for various reasons such as their claims not being provided in their employment contracts or covered by the Employment Act.

Of the remaining 65% (7,368) of the workers, about 60% (4,443) of their claims were successfully resolved by the Ministry and a total of $7.1 million was recovered for the workers. Another 10% (728) of the 7,368 workers had referred their claims for adjudication. The remaining 30% (2,197) of the workers encountered difficulty in securing their payments as their employers were facing cashflow problems or were not successful in their claims as their employers had ceased operations or had become insolvent.

The majority of employers who failed to pay their workers on time heeded the Ministry's advice and made the necessary changes to comply with the law. The Ministry also issues warnings to such employers. If the violation of the Employment Act is serious, the Ministry will consider taking prosecution action against the employers. But employers who violate the law belong to a small minority.

Last year, no company was prosecuted for violation of the Employment Act. Warnings to 279 employers were issued. In 2002, the Ministry prosecuted two

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companies for non-payment of salaries to their employees. The Court meted out fines against one company while the other had the charge compounded.

To ensure that the provisions of the Employment Act are complied with, the Ministry adopts the following measures:

a) Educational and promotional programmes to bring about greater awareness of the law and penalising employers who flout the law to deter other offenders. Generally, employers, especially in the larger companies, comply with the law. Employers who have problems complying with the law are mainly the small and medium-sized companies. Apart from advisories to employers on the relevant provisions of the Employment Act, they are also asked to attend courses on the Employment Act conducted by the Ministry.

b) Employers who continue to flout the law would be barred from employing foreign workers. This measure is an effective way to deter such employers.

c) My Ministry also conducts frequent inspections on companies to stamp out any violations of employment terms and conditions prescribed in the Employment Act.

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong: ): Sir, the first question is: how long does it take between the time that a worker files a claim and his claim is successfully met, either in terms of adjudication by the Ministry as well as a final payment made to the worker? Secondly, how many inspectors does the Ministry have to do inspection work to ensure compliance with provisions under the Employment Act?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, the Ministry tries to resolve the complaints/claims by employees as quickly as possible. Mdm Halimah surely knows that when we

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receive complaints/claims from workers, we will call both the employer and employee to verify the claims. If there is reason for us to believe that the employers have not complied with the Employment Act, we will ask them to comply with it. If, at the end of the process, there is no agreement between the employer and the employee, then, with the agreement of the worker, we can refer the matter for adjudication. It depends very much on whether we get information correctly and quickly from both sides.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, of the workers who have filed complaints, how many of them are foreign workers and how many of them are Singaporeans? Does the Ministry see a trend of employers not being able to pay the foreign workers, especially the foreign domestic maids?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, I do not have the figures as to how many of them are locals and how many of them are foreign workers. As to whether local employers have the money to pay their workers, I think most of them pay their workers promptly and on time. I mentioned earlier that very few employers actually have problems complying with the Employment Act.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam (Nominated Member): I heard the Parliamentary Secretary on the answer given to Ms Ng, but could I just ask the Parliamentary Secretary to give a rough estimate on the numbers? What percentage or what bulk belongs to employees who are Singaporeans and how many are foreigners? The second question that I have is that for the two employers who were prosecuted, what is the status of the employees who were affected? How were they compensated?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, on her first question, I suggest that Ms Mathi file a

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question. On her second question on what happens to the workers, they will get their pay. If the employers do not pay up, then the law will take its course of action.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, both of my questions were not answered. My first question was: approximately, how long does it take for a claim to be met, ie, from the time the worker files a claim and, ultimately, the claim is met by the employer?

My second question is: are there sufficient numbers of labour inspectors to do the inspection work? Because the Parliamentary Secretary did mention that labour inspections were done by the Ministry.

My third question to the Parliamentary Secretary would be: how many thousand employers are there in Singapore, and how many labour inspectors are being deployed to do the inspections to ensure compliance with the Employment Act?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, I am sorry I missed the question on the number of labour inspectors. I do not have the figure here. I suggest Mdm Halimah file a question on that.

How long does it take for claims to be resolved? I mentioned earlier that it depends very much on whether we have the information from both employers and employees. What we do is to try to resolve the issues as expeditiously as possible so that the workers, if justified, can get their pay.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, can I also ask the Parliamentary Secretary regarding claims involving foreign workers? What happens if the foreign worker has to be sent back home if his claim is not met or settled yet?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Column: 281

Firstly, the Ministry will try to speed up the process of the claim. The employers generally know that they will have to resolve the matter quickly. Otherwise, they will also have to pay more in terms of foreign worker's levy as long as the worker is in Singapore. To answer her question, basically, the Ministry tries to resolve the matter quickly, but that depends very much on whether we have the information from both sides. The worker will remain here to ensure that he gets his pay, but if prosecution is necessary, he will remain here as a witness.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Sir, can the Parliamentary Secretary explain what are the common reasons given by employers for non-payment of CPF, and whether these are the acceptable reasons?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, there are so many reasons why companies cannot pay their workers including their CPF contributions. I would not speculate here. If the Member wants information, we can give him if he files a question.