Help for Migrant Workers Faced with Sudden Job Loss and Enhancing Migrant Worker Employment Safeguards

Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Minister for Manpower (a) since 2021, how many migrant workers (MWs) have approached the Ministry for help due to sudden job loss; (b) of which, what percentage of MWs have owed fees to foreign recruiters; (c) what help has the Ministry extended to such MWs; (d) what transnational measures will be introduced to protect MWs against excessive recruitment fees; and (e) what safeguards will be introduced to ensure businesses hiring MWs are responsible employers and are financially sound.

Around 2,000 Work Permit holders (WPHs) approach the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for assistance annually on issues related to dismissal. Depending on the circumstances of each case, MOM will advise and assist the worker to file salary or wrongful dismissal claims. WPHs with valid salary claims or who are assisting with investigations may also obtain another job in Singapore in the meantime and will not be repatriated. MOM does not track if dismissed WPHs owe fees to foreign recruiters.

To safeguard the interests of workers, MOM regulates employment agency activities in Singapore. This includes setting limits on the amount of recruitment fees that agents can collect from workers. However, Singapore does not have legal jurisdiction to influence the recruitment fees incurred in the WPHs' home countries, which form the bulk of the recruitment fees borne by WPHs. Instead, MOM works with the industry to explore measures, such as direct outreach and referral programmes, to reduce the need for workers to approach foreign recruiters or middlemen to find jobs in Singapore.

To ensure employers of WPHs manage their foreign workforce responsibly, the Employment Act and Employment of Foreign Manpower Act prescribe the obligations of employers, such as ensuring prompt payment of salaries, as well as the penalties for failure to comply.