Most Accept MOM's Settlement Offer

The New Paper ran this story on 6 May 2009:

Most accept MOM's settlement offer

FOR these unhappy workers, their six-hour wait last week seems to have paid off - to some extent.

Yesterday, the workers claimed that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has paid more than $1,000 and provided a ticket back to China to each of them.

The New Paper reported last Tuesday that about 200 Chinese workers had gathered outside the MOM building at Havelock Road on Monday.

The workers, who were mainly from three companies, Hokh Contract Services, Raffles Contractors and Neo-Built, had gathered there to demand their outstanding wages.

They were also unhappy that their work permits were terminated without prior notice on 13 Apr.

MOM had revoked the permits of the workers from the three companies as the companies had failed to pay the foreign worker levy, failed to produce documents and physically produce their workers.

As a result of the termination, many workers had to forfeit part of the money they had paid their companies for 'expenses'.

About 400 workers who turned up at a meeting held at the MOM office at Kim Seng Road yesterday left the place with mixed feelings.

Eighty per cent of them accepted the offer of settlement, the MOM told The New Paper without going into details.

A former worker from Hokh Contract Services, who only wanted to be known as Mr Xu, said he was satisfied with the outcome.

The 30-year-old said: 'I cannot ask for more. They have done what they could. I know that some of my friends are not happy but it is not easy to satisfy all of us.'

Mr Zhou Degui, 50, felt that the sum offered was too small.

Mr Zhou, formerly from Neo-Built, said that the sum offered was small compared to what he was owed by the company.

A former Hokh Contract Services worker, Mr Fan Cheng Gui, 42, said that even though he was not satisfied, there is nothing he can do.

He said: 'And I've only been here for one month. You can just say that we are unlucky.'

According to a former Raffles Contractors employee, Mr Wang Yu, 37, each worker has to pay the companies amounts varying between $5,000 and $6,000 every year.

This sum would cover the total monthly expenses, such as insurance.

At the gathering last Monday, MOM officers had scheduled a meeting with the workers at the MOM office at Kim Seng Road yesterday so the matter could be discussed further.

The meeting, which started at 9am, lasted for about three hours.

The New Paper also understands that each worker was handled individually by the MOM officers.

More workers

Meanwhile, the New Paper saw another batch of workers from two other companies gathered outside the MOM premises yesterday.

Claiming to be from construction and engineering companies, they claimed they also faced the same problem of non-payment of wages.

Mr Wang Yu Shan, 42, a worker who was there with the new group, showed The New Paper four namecards from four companies which had the same addresses and telephone numbers.

Another worker from this group told The New Paper that the MOM had asked them to to come back tomorrow .

It is understood that the MOM will be releasing the details of the settlement of the cases in due course.