Court fines company for not paying workers on time
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 25 Apr 2013 1:43 PM
A company that held up more than S$44,400 in pay owed to its workers, has been fined for the offence under the Employment Act
One of two Chinese national workers who staged a work dispute protest on top of a crane on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, is escorted by Singapore Civil Defense Force officers after descending from the10-storey high cran . (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
Singapore: A fine of $8,000 has been slapped on a company that failed to pay its workers on time.
Zhong Jiang (Singapore) International Pte Ltd was charged in court this morning after the Manpower Ministry (MOM) investigated the company over a work dispute protest by two men who climbed atop a 10-storey tall crane.
Although it was found that the two men's claims were false, and the men were convicted of criminal trespass in March 2013 with jail of four weeks each, the MOM conducted a broader investigation into Zhong Jiang's employment practices.
It was found that the company had failed to make timely salary payments involving 10 workers, between September and November 2012.
In court on Thursday, the firm's representative pleaded guilty to 25 counts of failing to pay workers their salaries on time between October and December 2012.
The salaries that were paid late came up to more than $44,400 in all.
This is the highest number of such charges faced by a company so far this year.
Prosecution proceeded on eight charges, with the company fined $1,000 per charge.
Under the Employment Act, it is an offence if a company fails to pay workers their salaries within seven days after the last day of the salary period.
Zhong Jiang (Singapore) International had delayed paying its staff by one to three weeks.
- CNA/sf
