By
Chua Yini | Yahoo!
Newsroom – 2 hours 21 minutes
ago
A group of 200 disgruntled foreign workers went on a seven-hour
sit-out on Monday morning in Tampines over a dispute of unpaid
salaries. (Photo: Cheong Yaoming)
A group of 200 disgruntled
foreign workers went on a seven-hour sit-out on Monday morning
in Tampines over a dispute of unpaid salaries.
Instead of starting work at 8 am, Bangladeshi workers from Sunway
Concrete Pte Ltd and TechCom Construction gathered in an empty
field at Tampines Industrial Street 62.
Sunway is the main contractor and Techcom is the sub-contractor
hired by HDB to fabricate building materials for flats.
The workers have not been paid for four months running, since
November last year. They were also unhappy about the quality of the
food served in the canteen.
“All men same problem, all men no pay for four months,” said K.
Ravhkumar. According to the 35-year-old, his usual working hours
are from 8am to 10pm.
However, he said that workers would be made to work till 12 am on
busy days, without overtime pay. An average worker earns a basic
salary of $18 per day.
The strike slowly dissipated at about 3pm as workers were told by
representatives of the company that they would receive their
November pay today, and their December pay next Friday.
It is not confirmed when they will receive their salary for
January.
According to some workers, it is not the first time the company has
fallen behind payments for its foreign workers.
In addition, the Bangladeshi workers also complained about the poor
quality of food served in the canteen. Said Samid Sikdek, 35: “Cow
also cannot makan (eat), we how to makan.”
Currently, about $150 is deducted each month from their salaries as
food expenses, and another $20-50 for utilities.
A spokesman for Sunway, who declined to be named, claimed that the
sit-out originated from a core group of about 10 Bangladeshi
workers.
“A few of them took some weapons and threatened the others. Some
don’t know what is going on but just joined in…Majority of the
workers do not dare to speak because they are scared they will get
hamtum (beaten up),” he said.
Jolovan Wham, a representative from the
Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, said: “From
my experience, workers usually resort to such actions when they are
desperate and fed up. I believe they must have reached the tipping
point for them to decide not to work.”
According to a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesperson, its
officers responded to the incident immediately after they were
alerted by the police and went down to the worksite.
MOM’s interim investigations revealed that the employers had not
paid their workers since November 2011. MOM understands that by 8pm
today (6 February 2012), the employers would have paid out the
November 2011 salaries to all the affected workers, with MOM
officers present on-site.
The employers have also assured MOM that the affected workers will
receive their outstanding December 2011 salaries by this Friday (10
February).
"MOM will continue investigations here and follow up with the
workers to ensure that they receive their December 2011 and January
2012 salaries promptly. MOM officers will also interview workers on
other employment-related issues," said the spokesperson.
"MOM does not condone employers who fail to pay salaries on time,
or fail to upkeep and maintain the foreign workers they have
brought in. MOM urges workers to report to MOM early if they have
salary arrears."
When contacted by Yahoo! Singapore, TechCom declined to
comment.
