Addressing Gaps in Wage Arrears Data from Corporate Liquidations and Improving Policy Reviews Through Better Data Tracking

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) why the Ministry does not track the total number of workers with unpaid wages due to corporate liquidations; (b) how it accurately assesses the full scale of the wage arrears problem and evaluates the adequacy of existing financial safety nets without this baseline data; and (c) whether the Ministry will begin tracking such data to improve policy reviews.

Salary arrears occur under different circumstances of which corporate liquidation is one. When corporate liquidation occurs, salary arrears are required to be filed to the company's liquidator in accordance with the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) is no longer able to mediate with the liquidated company.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) tracks all salary claims filed with TADM. The resolution rates of claims depend on the specific circumstances of individual cases. MOM publishes the data in the annual Employment Standards Report. This data allows MOM to monitor the salary arrears situation and conduct regular reviews of our policies and programmes, including the Short-Term Relief Fund.