since you're on the topic of work permits:
They turn to MOM even as two MPs plan to raise issue in
Parliament
DOZENS of out-of-work foreign workers turned up at the Ministry
of Manpower (MOM) yesterday, even as two politicians said they
planned to raise in Parliament the question of how these men can
enter Singapore with valid work permits but end up with no
work.
When The Straits Times visited the MOM branch office in Kim Seng
Road yesterday morning, eight workers from a marine firm were
queueing to 'lodge a case' against their employer.
They said they had 'run away' from their Tuas dormitory to MOM
because they heard that their bosses had planned to send them home
to Bangladesh yesterday morning.
'We heard our tickets were ready and that a lorry would come to
pick us up at 7am,' said welder Mohd Mohsin Golam, 20, who claimed
that he had not worked a single day since arriving here on April
24.
'So we ran away at 6am.'
All of them have been here for between six and eight months and
worked, on average, for less than two months.
They also claimed they had paid $8,000 or more to 'agents' for
training, a work permit and a guaranteed job.
Most of these agents, The Straits Times understands, are
Bangladeshi, but live in Singapore.
'Our group that came in early February had no work, but they
still brought in more workers two months later,' said Mr Nahid
Rana, 26, who was promised a job as a pipe fitter.
Other groups of workers at the MOM complex yesterday said they
were there to get updates on their complaints or to look for jobs.
A guard on duty there said that more than 100 such workers turn up
at the office daily.
Inside the office, labourer Joynal Abedin stood in front of one
counter telling the attending officer that he had worked for only
two months and 17 days since arriving here on April 29.
He had been paid for the days he worked, but was hoping he could
complain about being denied regular work.
'Can you give us special pass and help us look for another job,'
he pleaded, crying.
'If we are sent back, we will be deep in debt,' said the
labourer, who was accompanied by Mr Faruk Hossain, 37, who arrived
in Singapore on the same flight and claimed he had not worked even
a day.
The attending officer replied that he should go to his boss,
rather than MOM, to ask for work. 'If you have worked but have not
been paid, that is something you can come to us for,' she said,
asking him to return later in the afternoon.
He did, and was given a letter asking him to return today with
his passport to see an 'employment inspector'.
Both Mr Joynal and Mr Faruk have been drifting around Serangoon
Road since leaving their dorm on Tuesday.
'We will not be able to survive if we do not recover the fees we
paid,' said Mr Joynal, showing his wallet, which contained only his
work permit but no money.
The sole breadwinner in a family of 12, he said he sold his bag
and belt shop to pay the agent who had promised him a job in a
shipyard which would pay about $900 a month.
The Straits Times could not reach the employers of both sets of
workers last evening and is therefore not naming the companies
involved.
When asked how workers with work permits could end up without
jobs, an MOM spokesman said: 'We are checking with our colleagues
for an update. It is unlikely that we can provide you with more
details soon as investigations are ongoing.'
Two MPs from the Government Parliamentary Committee on Manpower,
meanwhile, have called on the Bangladesh High Commission and MOM to
help solve the problem.
Madam Halimah Yacob told The Straits Times that she had tabled a
question in Parliament on how it was possible for manpower agencies
to bring in foreign workers when they have no proper jobs and what
safeguards were in place to prevent the exploitation and abuse of
such workers.
'This points to the need for more effective regulation and
better control in the issue of work permits by MOM,' said Madam
Halimah, adding that the Bangladesh High Commission could help by
providing MOM with a list of 'unscrupulous agencies' that have left
the workers 'stranded'.
Her colleague from the Manpower GPC, Ms Denise Phua, agreed. The
Bangladesh High Commission, she said, should 'also be the first
port of call to assist their nationals'. Ms Phua, MP for Jalan
Besar GRC, oversees Little India, where many of the workers have
been living on the streets.
She added: 'But MOM must take action against the unscrupulous
agents based here and hold them responsible for the state of
affairs and penalise them accordingly.'
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