FOREIGN WORKERS (Illegal redeployment)

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FOREIGN WORKERS:

(Illegal redeployment): 5.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many errant employers were prosecuted each year, over the last five years, for illegally redeploying their foreign workers to work in jobs they were not approved for; and (b) what other measures will his Ministry take to deter such illegal practices, which work against current efforts to recreate and reclaim jobs for retrenched and other Singaporeans.

Mr Hawazi Daipi (for the Minister for Manpower): Sir, in the past five years, a total of about 3,180 employers were prosecuted under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, or EFWA, for illegally deploying or employing foreign workers. This has averaged around 637 errant employers per year.

To deter illegal employment and deployment of foreign workers, MOM has significantly stepped up the level of enforcement. Between January and June this year, 386 employers have been prosecuted under the EFWA. Several key initiatives were put in place to support this enhanced level of enforcement.

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Firstly, MOM has also doubled its enforcement force in the past four months.

Secondly, instead of responding to public complaints, the Ministry's enforcement intelligence capability has been built up to guide our enforcement actions. This has enhanced our operational effectiveness. In addition, we have moved to a more integrated approach in our enforcement. For example, when we investigate an employer for suspected infringements of MOM regulations such as non-payment of salary, or health and safety violations, we would also now check for other infringements such as illegal deployment of foreign workers. To send a strong deterrent message, errant employers who employ and/or those who aid in illegally deploying foreign workers will be severely dealt with.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan (Hong Kah): Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary from which sectors do these illegal foreign workers originate mainly from. How is it that when we imposed quotas on foreign workers, yet there appears to be a surplus in some sectors? To which sectors are these foreign workers illegally redeployed? Has the Ministry studied why there is a shortage in these sectors? Are there any plans for the Ministry to try and mitigate the mismatch between the different sectors?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, foreign workers given work permits to work in certain industries have been deployed to various industries and sectors, in particular, the service sector. If the Member can ask me very specific questions, I can find the figures for her at the next opportunity.

How is it that some sectors which are said to need a lot of foreign workers actually have surpluses? We will have to base it on the current economic activities

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within the industry and we work with the other agencies in order to identify the needs. But what is important to note is it is impossible to really eradicate completely illegal deployment or employment of foreign workers. However, to deter abuses, MOM will step up penalties and enforcement. We want to do this so that we will reduce the number of illegal deployment of foreign workers in Singapore and, at the same time, create jobs for Singaporeans.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: Sir, I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, for instance, on this particular report on illegal workers who were working in a Town Council. From which sector were they from because, obviously, they must have been hired in a particular sector and it must have been surplus labour and that was why they were capable of being redeployed illegally, no doubt, to the Town Council?

I would also like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary if the Ministry actually studies or reviews regularly the foreign worker requirements, say, in different sectors, to try and minimise this kind of mismatch as well as to try and minimise the structural unemployment because of the mismatch. Obviously, if quotas are actually implemented for certain sectors and yet these sectors may time and again be found to be committing such an act of illegally redeploying the workers, then should their quotas not be revised?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: The workers who might have been caught working with Town Council contractors may come from the construction or marine industry. Does the Ministry study closely the manpower needs? Yes, we do that all the time. We are quite prudent about the issuing and the renewal of work permits. I can assure Members that we will do this continuously not only so that we do not have too many unnecessary foreign workers in Singapore

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but also so that we can create jobs for Singaporeans.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: I would like to ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary, in the event of a direct employer actually bringing in these foreign workers through an agent - it could be a situation where this employer has various types of businesses in different industry sectors and, for some reason, the workers taken in for a particular sector were redeployed to a service sector - in such a situation, how does the Ministry actually view the practice that was committed.

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Sir, work permits are issued to foreign workers so that they can be engaged in one particular sector and one particular company. Deploying them to other companies, or to other industries would be infringing the Employment of Foreign Workers Act. If a company has many different operations, we will have to take a look at whether it is cross-deployment or whether or not it constitutes illegal deployment of the foreign workers on the basis of whether the operations are under the same company or in a separate legal entity.