<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>More raids to flush out illegal foreign workers
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>MOM acts to ensure bosses don't use illegal means to deprive S'poreans of jobs in slump
=> Sounds nice. Why not have a Sporn-1st policy if they are sincere? More like to force the employers to pay the FTrash levy lah!
</TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Melissa Sim
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE man panicked.
He was washing a car in a multi-storey carpark in the Boon Tiong Road area when he spotted Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officers walking towards him.
He ran. They chased. One officer fell. The Indian national dashed towards Tiong Bahru market, where officers lost sight of him.
His counterpart, another Indian national, was not so lucky. He was caught while in a stairwell landing filling up a bucket with water. His work documents said he worked for a construction company.
It was a typical day's work for officers from MOM's inspection team, except that they are stepping up the number of raids.
What used to be two late-night inspections a week is now three, a move started late last year when the job crunch hit. The concern: That Singaporeans might be squeezed out of much needed jobs because employers resort to illegal methods to hire foreign labour
Mr Jared Wong, senior assistant director of MOM's operations branch, said weeding out foreign illegal manpower employment would help maintain public confidence and the 'integrity of our labour and foreign manpower laws'.
Last year, MOM conducted more than 8,000 inspections, arresting about 3,200 foreigners in the process.
On Wednesday, 18 illegal foreign workers were caught - from vehicle workshops, restaurants and stalls. Another, a Chinese national, was caught selling illegal DVDs.
Of the 18, three were Vietnamese, three Indian nationals and one Filipina, with the rest Chinese nationals. All either had invalid work permits, the wrong permit - such as a student pass - or were part of a 'phantom workers'' operation.
This is when employers lie about the number of local workers they have, even paying these 'phantom workers'' CPF contributions, so that they can employ more foreigners.
One workplace hit on Wednesday had seven foreign staff and two locals, when the ratio in the service sector should be one to one.
Since last November, at least 18 employers have been charged over the hiring scam. One Tampines restaurant owner was jailed last month for the offence, which carries up to a year's jail and a $15,000 fine. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>MOM acts to ensure bosses don't use illegal means to deprive S'poreans of jobs in slump
=> Sounds nice. Why not have a Sporn-1st policy if they are sincere? More like to force the employers to pay the FTrash levy lah!
</TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Melissa Sim
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE man panicked.
He was washing a car in a multi-storey carpark in the Boon Tiong Road area when he spotted Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officers walking towards him.
He ran. They chased. One officer fell. The Indian national dashed towards Tiong Bahru market, where officers lost sight of him.
His counterpart, another Indian national, was not so lucky. He was caught while in a stairwell landing filling up a bucket with water. His work documents said he worked for a construction company.
It was a typical day's work for officers from MOM's inspection team, except that they are stepping up the number of raids.
What used to be two late-night inspections a week is now three, a move started late last year when the job crunch hit. The concern: That Singaporeans might be squeezed out of much needed jobs because employers resort to illegal methods to hire foreign labour
Mr Jared Wong, senior assistant director of MOM's operations branch, said weeding out foreign illegal manpower employment would help maintain public confidence and the 'integrity of our labour and foreign manpower laws'.
Last year, MOM conducted more than 8,000 inspections, arresting about 3,200 foreigners in the process.
On Wednesday, 18 illegal foreign workers were caught - from vehicle workshops, restaurants and stalls. Another, a Chinese national, was caught selling illegal DVDs.
Of the 18, three were Vietnamese, three Indian nationals and one Filipina, with the rest Chinese nationals. All either had invalid work permits, the wrong permit - such as a student pass - or were part of a 'phantom workers'' operation.
This is when employers lie about the number of local workers they have, even paying these 'phantom workers'' CPF contributions, so that they can employ more foreigners.
One workplace hit on Wednesday had seven foreign staff and two locals, when the ratio in the service sector should be one to one.
Since last November, at least 18 employers have been charged over the hiring scam. One Tampines restaurant owner was jailed last month for the offence, which carries up to a year's jail and a $15,000 fine. [email protected]
