Ms He Ting Ru: Sir, on the topic of creating a sustainable workforce, can MOM ensure that if migrant workers lose their job after filing a complaint, the worker will have at least one month to look for a new job before they are repatriated? Workers sometimes face retaliation by employers when they make a complaint. Employers can cancel work permits and repatriate the worker. This repatriation can take place virtually overnight. This applies to domestic workers too. Currently, employers can decide unilaterally whether to send a domestic worker home or to allow a transfer.
Reform of these rules will help Singapore utilise available labour quickly in a tight labour market as well as retain workers who are already here and have the language and work skills to fit in. After all, workers who have fallen out of favour with one employer may be well-liked and seen as productive by another.
The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Koh Poh Koon): Ms He Ting Ru suggested that employers should be required to wait one month before repatriating migrant workers. Her concern is that repatriation may arise from retaliation by the employer. Should this be the case, they should approach MOM. When migrant workers are on-boarded, we inform them of their rights and avenues to seek help if they are unfairly treated. Upon notification, MOM will investigate and issue a special pass to allow the worker to remain in Singapore until investigations are completed.
If employers have been found to be victimising their employees, enforcement action will be taken against the relevant employers. I hope Ms He Ting Ru does not forget that, at times, migrant workers themselves are at fault, leading to the end of the employment relationship. For example, if a migrant domestic worker has been mistreating children in a household, I think it would not be reasonable to expect the employer to continue keeping the migrant domestic worker in the household and providing for her upkeep instead of repatriating her immediately.
Ministry of Manpower
4 March 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2369
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 