Boris Chan
Some 179 foreign workers from Bangladesh fear they may not have a place to sleep or food to eat in the coming days. Their employer has basically abandoned them and they are being evicted from their dormitory in two days.
The Online Citizen (TOC) was alerted to their plight and visited them yesterday at Tagore Lane.
The workers had each paid agents some S$8,500 for a 2-year contract to work in Singapore shipyards. The agents said they could earn up to S$18 per day and more if they worked on Sundays. In two years, they could earn some S$15,000, enough to cover the money they paid to the agents and bring home a small sum.
However, they are not employees of the shipyards. The sub-contractor employed them and sent them to the shipyards to work as welders and electricians. Their starting pay was S$16 per day but were paid only if they had job assignments. After being here for more than a year, they had their pay increased by one dollar to $17 per day. For a good period of time, it was not an issue. But in the past two and a half months, many of them did not get any work assignments – some for as long as four months – and thus no pay as well.
Now they are worried and desperate about what will happen next. Their employer has denied responsibility for them and has vacated the office from the factory. The drivers who drove them to work have also vacated the dorm. They have no money and no food and were told that the landlord is going to evict them as the rental period for the dormitory is expiring soon. They have called the police and approached the Ministry of Manpower yesterday for assistance but to no avail. Their next course of action is to seek help from their embassy here.
TOC will update readers on the situation in future reports.
Headline picture by Stephii Chok.
Here is a video interview with the workers.
Pictures by Boris Chan:
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In future, I shall call TOC 1st to report instead of MSM or upload to stom!p!
due to preference.
I prefer TOC’s alternative ways of coverage which is very insightful, interesting and honest.
Do keep up your excellent efforts and initiative.
regards
Rod
I really pity them. Came all the way from their country, hoping to provide a better lives for their family & now this…
Hopefully they can find a solution..
Lest the govt bashing begin, let me be the first to say that this is not the work of our govt but the works of some unscrupulous private business and individuals who have chosen to leave these poor forreign workers in the lurch.
What is of concern to me, without being discrimitory, is what this desperate group of foreigners could have done or succumbed to in order to survive their ordeal. I cannot even bring myself to imagine the neighbourhood shop being robbed, innocent aunties being pick-pocketed and all sorts of other petty crimes. What have we invited into our shores?
I may be hypothetical here, but who can assure me that it will not happen? How many more groups of FWs are left out there like these 179 forsaken Bangladashies?
What really makes me sick is that they’re paid a miserly $16 per day. My goodness, is this even humane?
ermm.. whatever the case the govt can’t escape from being linked…
it’s true that unscrupulous biz brought these workers here… but it’s govt’s policy of getting cheap foreign labour that enables these biz to run…
do u know how easy it is to bring a foreign worker/talent to get into singapore?
Wah.. this is horrible.. This is modern slavery exasperated by corporate irresponsibility. If employers are sufficiently morally bankrupt to treat foreign workers like that, would the same employers treat Singaporean workers with any better attitude in the first place?
the first to be retrenched?
Maybe we’ll see NTUC’s Lim Swee Say come out and say: “HOW COME EMPLOYER NEVER CONSULT NTUC FIRST?”
A sad case of pure greed together with pure exploitation. Our “gracious society” doesn’t apply to these cheap foreign manpower.
The employer has the responsibility to take care of these foreign worker. They cannot just abandoned them in this manner. If the employer does not want to take up this responsibility, our government should step in to interfere and help these poor souls. Afterall is not that our government who approved the permit to bring in these foreign worker?
$16 a day is really pure slavery in the self-claimed first world singapore. Somemore the foreign workers have to pay the greedy agents who over-charged them $8,500.
If the employer can slaved these foreign worker, no surprise they can slaved us singaporean worker in same manner.
Truly unique singapore
#8) Daniel Hor on December 17th, 2008 11.28 am
These workers are not even entitled to form unions in the first place. So how will their problems even come to the attention of our dear elite union MPs?
MOM and police should have to step in. They cannot just make the money by taken a big slice of these poor souls’ wages when times were good and dump
them on the streets now when times are bad, like irresponsible pet owners.
The authorities should not say this is private matter and if possible bring the
book on the employers.
I think this is not the first case that the employer abandon the foreign workers. Yes this is not Government problems, but Government have to take action on the employer, but to what we understand from the pass cases. Everything cool down without any action taken. Not only these group of foreign workers pay are low, some construction workers pay are even lower like $13 per day.
I hope whoever read this article,be it FT/FW or singaporean,realise what kind of ’1st’ world country or Inc singapore is…
Not that it is any consolation to these workers, but looks like Mainland Chinese workers are ALSO getting the shaft!
http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-962.htm
http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-965.htm
If anything, it’s scarier if what Yawning Bread has reported is true: ie that MOM officials are conspiring with the employers to get these workers who complain arrested and deported!
The employers should be arrested, charged in court and ordered to pay for the abandoned workers’ passage home. The abandoned workers’ agency fee should be partially reimbursed too because the workers didn’t complete the entire 2 year period as stipulated in their employment contract.
This is appauling. It is not just a sign of disrespect to humane living and human exploitation, it is out right ‘fly by night” and irresponsible business conduct whichever the agent(s) is(are).
I think the relevant authority should step in and regulate these “so call placement agents”. They should not be letting them off the hook easily. The findings should be made public and barr them from further business operation. It is exactly this kind of business conduct that has paratly caused the native fellow mates to be out-competed for jobs that otherwise would have our very own locals being employed. In a long run, if the authority allow these practices to go scot free, this will do more harm to the Singapore economy than help.
What is going to happen to this group of poor souls? I hope they are compensated and given a fair treatment. Bless them.
Come to think of it, this is a new ‘retrenchmentment’ twist altogether.
We have heard and seen employers retrenching workers but this is the first case of its kind in Singapore where the employer retrench itself from the workers.
gemami, your comments are bigoted and unnecessary. Yes people in desperate situations can do desperate things. But instead of being reactionary and thinking at the tail-end of the situation, why not take the preventive or proactive approach?
Unscrupulous businesses indeed, but it is the job of the government to regulate and enforce certain standards. So the MOM, who issues work permits and other official documents for foreigners to work in our shores, needs to step up in this case and investigate what’s going on.
Further, it has a duty to provide for these people until they are able to sort their situation out.
The government always harps on how foreign workers benefits us in this country. They cannot be abandoned in a foreign country without help when they’ve been cheated like this.
And yes, $16 a day is disgusting. Were meals and board provided for? Or did they have to pay for that themselves?
And then our government minister can ask “how many meals at the hawker centre do we want a day”
Let’s think about this situation: These people paid $8500 just to come here for the PRIVILEGE to work for $18 a day at best?
Something is very wrong here.
Bad Karma watch out 4 those who do bad.
#4, Andrew,the salary is a mutal agreement although I may them $18 or $19 per day for new workers with 2 hours OT everyday and 2x during Sunday and Public Holiday. Bear in mind that it exclude a $2.50 per day food allowance if OT is done. On top of that, their accomodation of $150/m and $10 utilities fee for cooking is not included.
There are other cost like transportation, medicsl fees, insurance etc to be added. It may be cheaper compared to local workers but the problem is sometime the difficulties in getting locals to do such jobs
I make no apologies in paying such salaries as this is a market norm. It is my responsibilities to ensure they are paid and taken care off to my best.
This video makes me sick, and I shall say this is not the only one. We have seen tuition centre or private schools closed down leaving foreign students out side the door, tour agency close down leaving clients with fake air tickets, home owner close the door after collected rentals from students and many more…
What is happening in our country? How come the authority just pretends that there is nothing happen and not reacting to it?
These will definitely spoil our image as a developed country. So sad…
I think we should prosecute these sub and main cons, these are the blood suckers.
Hi lips,
I agree that I may have overstated my point and stepped over the line but I think it is necessary to bring it across. Also, I did make myself clear that it is a hypothetical thought and with no discrimitory intention.
I apologise unreservedly for any offence caused to anyone.
I also agree, after reading the yawningbread link provided by AhKao, that MOM and some of our other ministries need to review their treatment of these foreign workers especially when mediating discourses between worker and employer.
Minimum Wage = If I could pay you less, I would.
Maximum Wage = If I could pay myself more, I would.
Life is never fair, just make sure that it is fair in your favor.
This whole episodes just shows that humans are exploitative in nature. Nothing can change that.
the salary is a mutal agreement although I may them $18 or $19 per day for new workers with 2 hours OT everyday and 2x during Sunday and Public Holiday. – seveneleven (#22)
Mutual agreement would make it acceptable if the foreign workers have any bargaining position prior to signing the contract. They have no bargaining position to begin with, no amount of mutual agreement or contracts will make it right.
These foreign workers are just the tip of the iceberg. Many foreign maids also end up with unscrupulous employers who try to send them back without paying their wages. Some unlucky ones even end up getting abused too.
Maybe TOC shoud go to the Indonesian or Filipino Embassy and get interviews from these people too. Basically all these shows that the moral values of our country has gone to the dogs.
It’s really a dog eat dog world now here in Singapore. And please don’t even count on our dear elites to intervene since they are the ones who have made our society end up like what it is today in the first place.
S’poreans can now have their jobs back.
I think this is a sad and regrettable incident that is widespread as the recessions reigns it’s ugly head.
I have heard of employers and agents splitting the huge cost paid by each labourer (not FT) when they cut the deal. Sometimes, each deal can bring hundred of thousands of dollars to each partner.
Imagine each worker pays $8,500 to come. If you bring in 100 X $8,500, the figure becomes mind boggling. This even after minusing off airfare, work permit fee and other logistical charges.
It is big money for all who wants to get involved. Even the govt is seen to be closing an eye to such bogus labour deals.
If the worker wants to come by paying such a high fee who is to stop them if all papers are in order? All partners invovled make their bucks. The worker make also though his pay is pittance as he will bring home the few thousands balance back home. The money is enough to build a house and even start a small business.
The govt make by having the work permit fees to be paid monthly by employers. Of course, the biggest winners are the employers and the agents. Each deal cut will fatten their bank account by hundred of thousands dollars.
I am not saying that I approve of such “slavery” labour contract especially if they are thrown away like a piece of furniture when there is no work for them.
Unless the govt put a stop to such low end labour FTs, we will continue to see foreigners being exploited by scheming employers/agents.
It is against the human rights law.
Good work by TOC though in exposing such scandal.
,
on behalf of the human rights
worldwide inc
let me rephrase this one very very carefully
only in unique singapore
have we got such ugly malpractise
in europe
whoever bring in foreign workers
must ensured that they are reparatrate
in the event of a collapsed
if the said company cannot afford
to do so
(they will be blacklisted)
the country concerned
(meaning banagla embassy)
will be next on the list to reparatrate
their citizens home
afterall they did come here to make money
and remit the earnings back to bangadenshi
helping their country economy
if onced again
the country refused to do so
the european government will reparatrate
the foreign workers home
using
YOURs/mine money
but the country concerned
will too be blacklisted
for future foreign workers import
meaning your country workers will no longer be able to work in the blaclisted
european countries
(9 european countries hor)
in singapore?
we have the ministry of manpower foreign levies everymonth
masuk inside
problemo arised?
act blurred/blind/deaf and dumb as well
only in
UNIQUE singapore
do we have such a
^CARING^ pap government
and here we are
with the mental1 blowing his horn
how great the foreign workers are
with his son our prime ministers
ECHOED
yeah hor
bring in MORE foreign workers
kaninia…………………………..
Seven eleven (#22),
Yes, it is the “market norm”.
I wish there were more employers who had a heart and a conscience and be brave enough to step out of the “market norm”. This may be wishful thinking but to me, I think if oneself would not work for $16 a day, then one shouldn’t expect others to do the same – wherever they may come from.
At the end of the day, employers survive on what these employees do (the job of building). Employees live on what the employers pay them.
It is when the one with the power starts to exploit the other, that we see such situations as the one above.
And certainly, the govt should step in, should it not? Or should we leave the helpless to those who exploit them?
Government not at fault?????
Did they check whether the employer of these workers have that much work to do before issuing the work permits?
Did they check whether the employer has prepared suitable places for these workers to live?
Basically what we have here is a SCAM JOB. I could register a company, pretend I need a lot of workers, apply for work permits, accept the agent fees from the workers then once I have cheated enough money from 200 workers, close down my company leaving them stranded in Singapore. And guess, what MOM will help me cancel their work permits and the police will help me deport them back to their countries!!
The beauty of this is that this has been ongoing for more than 10 years and the government don’t care. So the money is there on the table, whether you dare to take it or not depends on your conscience!
Many agents eat people, including, insurance agt, investment agt, bank, maid agt
Civil servants (MOM staff) are just like you and me. With today rising cost of living and the work stress and all that, civil servants just want to complete their job and go home. They are not interested in anything else. They heck care about what foregin worker or maid, it is not their family issue anyway. There is no incentives for them to help or service these foreign worker better. As long as they complete their duty or KPI, they’ll be entitled to their pay and bonus. If I were work as MOM staff, I’ll also just follow rules and don’t care about anything else. Why go fight with employer who abadon these worker? Let them abadon lor. Complete work and go home earlier better.
Please do not take all these sinful acts likely.
The day may come when Singaporeans get paybacks(retributions) in foreign lands and even in our own home(country). Think of foreigners getting hostile towards Singaporeans when they get to know where you are from(SIN).
puppy.
I wonder if Singapore can slowly ease off our dependence on foreign workers.
Here in Australia, there is NO cheap foreign workers that are employed to do manual or construction work.
They hire back their own workers and from what I see they are doing a good job. Each construction worker is paid at least $3K or more BECAUSE it is tough work and they have no choice but to increase pay for such work. They can’t employ unskilled labourers in the construction site. I see Aussies all sweat under the sun heavily involved in the construction industry. I wonder why the same scheme cant work in Singapore? Why always suck up to the employers so that they can make fat profits at the expense of all?
The key I guess is paying consturction workers well enough. If construction work pays decently e.g. 2K up, you think local Singaporeans won’t go and mix cement and carry steel bars? The unemployment rate will drop instantly!
It is because they are so lowly paid that Singaporeans avoided such work. That is why sub contractors have to employ foreigners as they can only pay $18 a day for such manual work. Then they bite back and say Singaporeans are choosy and can’t take hard work!
I think the govt has to step in at least to tighten up such lax labour contracts to employ unskilled foreign workers.
The labour laws all along have favour employers and this got to stop.
We are already having quite a bad image abroad with such adverse news.
Hi #34) mohoon,
Kindly speak for yourself without roping all of us in. There are some of us still interested in what we are doing with or without the added stress.
Hi Gilbert,
I wonder if Singapore can slowly ease off our dependence on foreign workers.
Unfortunately, the call is not fully ours to make. Businesses are squeezed to death and one of the easiest way to cut cost is cheaper alternatives, one of which is cheap labour. The need for businesses to stay trim and fit has caused this brutally thuggish and ruthless behaviour downstream, and at every level.
The key is not only a higher wage for some of the lower end jobs but also to make these jobs family friendly. Local workers need to have time for their families, to look after school-going children and sick parents etc. The fw do not have these competitive concerns as ours.
The fw’s sole purpose in coming here is to earn a tidy some for the few years of work they put in. It becomes attractive for employers to seek them out because they do not need to worry about these fw having the need to take family-care leave or maternity leave or even sick leave esp when the policy is no work, no pay.
Take the example of our bus drivers. There are so many Malaysian and Chinese nationals driving our buses these days. The pay is not too bad at around $2k. Why then do SIngaporeans shy away from such a job? Yes, the long and irregular hours that leaves one without any hope of enjoying family time with the family.
So, instead of the govt saying Singaporeans are shunning these jobs, why not make it more conducive for them to be employed? Instead of paying one a $2k to work irregular shifts, why not pay 2 persons at $1k each to drive half the hours? Give them the option to choose either options.
Point is, there are ways to work around most situations instead of just saying Singaporeans are not taking up these jobs because of blah, blah, blah reasons.
Go to the root cause and see if these can be better managed for the people to accept them. You will see that money is not always the consideration whether one takes up a job offer or not.
Our gahmen started all this FW problems but do not want to get to the root of the problems. MOM is making huge $ to bring FW so why break their own rice bowls.
No wonder no Singaporean wants to take up these jobs. How a person in Singapore can feed his family (living in SG) with a pay of $18/hr a day. Our gahman always tells us that Singaporeans are just too choosy. Ohh I see; in fact it is the salary.
Perhaps, the gahman wants the poor Singapoeans to accept this kind of salary. If you want it take it. If you don’t want it leave it. You know, I can bring in FTs to take up the jobs.
Life sucks.
When a worker abscond from employer, MOM confiscate the employer’s work permit bond for the worker. ($5000 if i’m not wrong) Now when it is the other way round and the employer absconds, does MOM give the worker this $5000? Obviously not.
So what is the purpose of employers paying the bond to MOM for? For them to invest in minibonds also?
It is definitely the responsibility of our government to seriously investigate the plight of all these abandoned foreign workers. They have a duty because they grant the work permits and collect levies. They have the authority to stop repatriation of these workers pending completion of investigations and ensure that they are justly compensated. Surely as a first world country, our government cannot turn a blind eye to such problems. It is sad that despite the work of so many ngos today, foreign workers are still treated so badly.
Hi Boris & TOC,
Keep it up!
You too, MOM
Uniquely Singapore – World Class country in Asia, spend millions to promote this A+ lioncity in media over the world but got such a class F in labour practice. I hope reuters will report this news on their website to tell the world about Singapore shameful best employment practice.
We give free scholarships to people from India, Bangladesh, China partly as goodwill gestures, to improve our relations with these countries.
On the other hand, we allow abuses of foreign workers to go unchecked. The goodwill earned is undone instantly.
Our money down the drain and Singaporeans are made to pay for their mistakes as usual.
Beh Tahan, how can such things happen in a World Class state. Poor 3rd World workers left stranded here?
LTA should also review on the transportation of the foreign workers. It gives me the impression that LTA does not value the life of such workers. Can you imagine allowing 10 or more workers to be seated at the back of a lorry without due regard to their safety? Our government should also review the minimum wage payable to them…. I really feel for them.
Biting the hands that feeds them…thats what those people are good at…both the employers in this case and the you-know-which-party
46) Cancer on December 17th, 2008 8.07 pm
LTA should also review on the transportation of the foreign workers. It gives me the impression that LTA does not value the life of such workers. Can you imagine allowing 10 or more workers to be seated at the back of a lorry without due regard to their safety? Our government should also review the minimum wage payable to them…. I really feel for them.
yeah right! last time when we drive a pick up and seated with a couple of passengers behind, they booked us with summons cos its very dangerous. Now leh? oh no problems, these banglas are just cheap labours and they comes in big trucks after trucks, anything happen? oh…no problem, its not only cheap labours but also cheap lives, issit?
now how many of you peeps know about china foreign talents
working here?
do you know that they must pay the chinese agent a minumum sum of
50,000 renminpi (S$10,000)
to be settle within 12 months
upon their arrivals
failured to do so
will result in their home/land in china to be auctioned off
or whoever guranteed/sponsered them in the first place….
now you know
why geylarg is full of chinagirls who are plying the streets
as though they wanted to
in the
FIRST place
ole YES
the ministry of manpower knows
SUCH practice
even the manufacturing HRO also knows
but what to do
as some of you here already said
the singaporeans agents/momworkers are only looking afteir OWNED ricebowls
the chinese foreign workers are just merly exploited slave labours
now you know
why the mental1 is blowing his trumpet
simply because he got all this foreign talents by their
BALLS or naynay
whichever CUM first
sooner or later
the streets of singapore
will be turned into a ghetto
where foreign workers
would be looting/burnings our properties
afterall
they themselves
have really nothing to lose
if cornered
and
this incidents
did happenned
WORLDWIDE
from America thru Europe
Where is the law and order here for such friends who trusted Singapore. Is the M.O.M going to take some action? I doubt!!!!!!
guess whose making all the $$$$
they contractors have to make or break when they bid for hdb projects at cut throat prices
then they hire the workers at cut throat prices with measerly pay
they hdb sells them to u guys are variable pricing meaning whatever prices
they dictate
guess who ends up the sukers