SINGAPORE: The Manpower Ministry is reviewing the
Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and intends to implement the
changes later this year.
The review will cover four key areas aimed at
ensuring penalties for breaches are adequate, and that errant
employers are held accountable.
In Parliament on Monday, Minister of State Tan
Chuan-Jin said explicit provisions will be created to define major
contraventions, instead of prosecuting them as part of other, less
serious offences under the act.
These include the collection of kickbacks from foreign workers, the
use of local "phantom workers" by employers to artificially boost
their foreign worker quota, as well as the submission of fake
qualifications.
The penalties will also be increased. Currently, maximum penalties
for breaching work permit conditions are a S$5,000 fine and/or six
months in jail. Mr Tan noted that these "do not adequately reflect
the egregious nature of such acts", but did not specify the range
of penalties being considered.
Third, authorities are looking into a new mechanism to complement
criminal prosecution, to allow them to react quickly to regulatory
contraventions.
Finally, the ministry will expand its powers of investigation to
deal with increasingly complex syndicate operations. The proposed
powers will be benchmarked to those provided under the Workplace
Safety and Health Act and the Employment Agencies Act.
A public consultation exercise on the proposals will be held later
this month.
Separately, the ministry is also reviewing the work pass conditions
within the Employment of Foreign Manpower Regulations, to better
clarify the responsibilities of employers, foreign workers and
foreign domestic workers.
Mr Tan said our foreign labour force needs to be treated decently,
particularly to ensure that employment rights are upheld and that
workers are not subject to exploitative conditions.
As foreign workers play an important role in building our
infrastructure and caring for our families, they should be treated
in a manner that reflects our Singaporean values of fairness and
respect for all workers.
He added that by and large, employers in Singapore are found to be
responsible, and the majority of some 3,000 foreign workers
surveyed said they are generally satisfied with their working
conditions and intend to extend their contracts after they
expire.
But Mr Tan said while the ministry will be tough on errant
employers, not all cases are surfaced early enough. To prevent
employers from mistreating workers, he said workers, the public and
civic groups should help raise the matter to authorities as soon as
possible.
-CNA/ac
