June 19th, 2011 | Author: Contributions
Dear Editor TRE,
Can TRE highlight a scam which is going on in Singapore among the employers of foreign workers. This scam is also perpetuated by listed companies where MP’s are in boards of directors also. It goes like this:
The government is supposed to have tried to cut down demand for foreign workers by raising their salary level. Thus S-pass holders must be those paid $1,800 and above before such passes are issued.
In actual fact, employers, in cahoot with agents, arrange with that these foreign workers, while on paper are paid say $1,800 per month, every month, a day after pay day, these foreign workers troop to the boss’s office and hand back anything from $900 to $1,200 in cash to the boss. Thus in actual fact, the company are allowed to bring in foreign workers whose pay are as low as $800 per month under S-passes. I know in a company where they are just employed to answer telephone and key in orders for the company.
Needless to say, the bosses of such companies are extremely high-handed and arrogant towards Singaporean workers. They adopt a take it or leave it attitude. For them, it is better that the Singaporeans are forced out. Then they moan about picky Singaporeans. You have just highlighted the Straits Times’ sickening twisting of facts. Can you expose such scams? Please.
Yue Zhong Qi
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SHITTY TIMES IN FULL DRIVE TO BELITTLE LOCAL WORKERS IN FAVOUR OF FOREIGNERS:
June 19, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Alas,what a naive lot Singaporeans are.
This is not a scam per ce.
This is a norm.
In almost all countries that has a greater floating population than locals.
In short,paper qualifications & salaries paid are ONLY IN PAPERS for officialdom sake.The rest are private arrangements.
I had seen this sort of system at work in Middle East & Brunei—-even in Indonesia where an expat had to pay a certain amount of annual fees to the govt; all are circumvented.The biggest culprits are large MNCs who wants the cake and eat it too.
But there is a difference
All the other countries that I knew where such a system works benefits the locals.Whereas in Singapore such a system works against the locals.
How?
Because almost all those countries with a huge foreign population as their floating population are oil rich counties.Nanny states–where everything is provided free.And this ’scam’ or system allows their local contractors to have a pool of foreign workers at their disposal not costing them much since foreigners don’t compete with locals for jobs.
But in Singapore we already have enough local workers but they cost more since our cost of living is higher.Therefore such a scam or system works against local workers.
You might be surprised some of our govt linked companies also engages in this dirty trick…..by contracting or sub contracting such jobs to their cronies…..just take a peek at our shipyards ,the dirt is mountain high.
I bet the contractors are PAP cronies.
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Kojakbt:
June 18, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Corruption is endemic now in Singapore. Most of the local employers who recruit large number of foreign workers are on the take 1 way or another. Most foreign workers coming here pay something like $8-10K to secure a job. Just ask yourself this simple question, where does the money all go to? To the agents? You mean they are so powerful to be able to “guarantee” jobs for the foreign workers?
It’s pathetic…
In 5 years, thanks to PAP’s pro-FT, pro-growth policy, it’s turning Singapore from a first-world country to a 3rd world one.
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Rotten PaPayas:
June 19, 2011 at 11:40 am
I don’t know about large local employers but this practice is certainly true for smaller employers so one can assume that it must be the same for large ones.
Local agents will usually contact an advertiser for foreign workers and try to push their wares (pool of available workers) with a dangle of a couple of thousand dollars per worker. Squeeze them and they may give a bit more.
Yes! These local agents actually pay you cash up-front to take their workers.
Where does that leave local born and bred workers – difficulty in finding jobs and lower take-home pay due to unfair competition from
these hordes of hungry workers from abroad who will settle for less pay.
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Sure or Not:
June 19, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Quote: “his scam is also perpetuated by listed companies where MP’s are in boards of directors also. It goes like this:
The government is supposed to have tried to cut down demand for foreign workers by raising their salary level. Thus S-pass holders must be those paid $1,800 and above before such passes are issued.”
1) Is this the reasons why Companies want MPs to be on their BOARD and also pay them handsomely?? So that companies can know where is the ‘long kang’ (loop holes) to avoid or skip??
Quote: “Needless to say, the bosses of such companies are extremely high-handed and arrogant towards Singaporean workers. They adopt a take it or leave it attitude. For them, it is better that the Singaporeans are forced out. Then they moan about picky Singaporeans.
You have just highlighted the Straits Times’ sickening twisting of facts. Can you expose such scams? Please.”
1) No wonder i find it strange that employers always complaint no Singaporean/workers willing to work or accept the jobs!! Sooooo this is the reason that they want more FW/FT.
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וו ×“× ×™×�ל:
June 19, 2011 at 1:44 pm
This is absolutely true for years already!
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Boon Huat Tan:
June 19, 2011 at 2:44 pm
if MOM investigates and CHECKs, it can benefit SG by: having higher PAY for Qualified / Certified and REAL Foreign Talents AND MORE IMPORTANTLY better PAY for already Qualified LOCAL workers ; NOT forgetting BETTER working ENVIRONMENT and working hours/timing for all Salaried WORKERs, LOCALs or Foreign.
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ABC:
June 19, 2011 at 3:45 pm
@joe tan:
>> whenever u see those BLANGLA workers clearing the rubbish and washing the rubbish chute,do you want to do their job ???? If your answer is no, then please shutup and stop your stupid complain about foreign workers here.I repeat’ please shutup’ !!!!!!!!!-
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Kojakbt:
Well, at $2K a month, I’m sure you can get some Singaporeans willing to work..
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LOBANG kena screwed of course pain la. Needless to say, you break the FT goldmine, every john, joe, billy n joey would scream! And it is thesejohn, joe, billy n joey that screwed the system to their own advantage. They enjoyed screwing the garment to show they are smarter. To them no policy is unscrewable. Looks like the garment also enjoyed being screwed for such a long time liao. Looks like these john, joe, billy n joey are more powerful than garment. But the john, joe, billy n joey days are numbered. They can’t screw LHL that why they are screaming!
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From: Emeritus Foreign Thrashes = 1st class (BabaEro11) 3:56 am
To: kojakbt_89_ unread (3 of 3)
52916.3 in reply to 52916.1
Only way to plug the Loop-hole is to TAX these S-Pass workers AT THE SOURCE .
Tax them 10% of SGD 1,800.
Employers who employed 10 S-Pass workers have to pay SGD 1,800.
If workers have to pay back employers SGD 1,000 each, they are left with only SGD 620 NET pay.
One of my Palawan Bitch Resort Sinkie guests told me in Punggol end, there is a marina club - big timer for abusing S-pass.
All the Ah Tiongs are Fake S-Pass holders.
SGD 1,000 per month each worker pay back through Agent and donated into the Staff's Fund.
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1 FT 5K
200 FT 1MIL
GOLDMINE INDEED