Must Eat Kopitiam Employ FTrash. Boycott?

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Singapore's PHANTOM WORKERS

</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Their names are on the payroll and payouts are made to their CPF accounts - but they don't work. Errant employers use this scam to get around a quota system for hiring cheaper foreign labour </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Shuli Sudderuddin

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Must Eat coffee shop supervisor Chuang Yu Ming (in red) with the Toa Payoh Central coffee shop's other employees of various nationalities. Besides Singaoporeans and permanent residents, the workers include three China nationals and three Malaysians. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Mrs Josephine Teo, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, recently met a retired woman in her 60s at her Meet-the-People session.
'She wasn't working but discovered that money had been deposited in her CPF account,' she said.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Quotas in different sectors
Construction sector

For every full-time Singapore citizen or permanent resident employed by a company which makes regular full-month Central Provident Fund contributions, it can employ seven foreign workers.

... more​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The woman was puzzled about this and brought it up to the MP.
'We alerted the Ministry of Manpower and found that someone knew of her identification and employment status and submitted an application to hire her,' said MrsTeo.
Meet the 'phantom' worker.
Under the law, sectors such as service and manufacturing must employ a number of Singaporeans or permanent residents before they can hire foreign workers.
Some employers get around this by employing local workers in name only and contributing to their CPF. Having these phantom workers, who are often retirees, on their payroll allows them to hire more foreign workers.
Phantom workers made the news recently when Mr Ong Ah Heng, Nee Soon Central MP, drew Parliament's attention to their existence.
He was approached by a coffee shop owner who felt that errant coffee shop operators would benefit unfairly from the Jobs Credit scheme announced in Parliament.
Under the $4.5 billion scheme which is meant to stave off retrenchments, employers get a 12 per cent cash grant on the first $2,500 of wages for every Singaporean or permanent resident on their CPF payroll.
'People fear that the scheme is going to be put to waste because money is going to go to people who aren't actually paying local workers,' Mr Ong said to The Sunday Times.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, inflating the foreign-worker entitlement by falsely declaring the number of local workers is punishable with a fine of up to $15,000 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.
Besides the employer, the 'phantom' worker may also face the same penalty for abetting the offence.

 

[makapaaa]

Internationally, phantom workers have also been in the spotlight.
Last month, B. Ramalinga Raju, the founder and chairman of Satyam, an Indian information service outsourcing company, confessed to making up more than 10,000 employees to siphon money from the company.
While the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is currently investigating 33 cases of possible use of phantom workers, some say the problem may be more widespread.
Mr Ong said: 'I think the problem is bigger than that because coffee shops seem to have many foreign workers.'
Added a coffee shop manager in Ang Mo Kio who declined to be named: 'This is something many operators learn when they set up a coffee shop. They do it because it's convenient.'
Rampant practice

Industry players said the phenomenon is not new.
Mr Hong Poh Hin, vice-chairman of the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association, knows of restaurant operators who have been caught for this, although he said he has not encountered this in the 400 or so coffee shops in his association.
Explaining how it works, he said employers usually put down the names of local retirees as workers. However, these retirees do not work in the establishment, nor do they get a salary.
In some cases, they might not even know about the scam. Some of them could be unwitting family members of the employers.
As required by law, the employers pay a portion of these phantom workers' salaries into their CPF accounts. They then use their names to fulfil the quota of local workers that is required.
One reason for the scam is cost - it is much cheaper to get foreign workers than local ones.
'Locals are paid about $1,100 to $1,200 while foreigners are paid only $800 to $900,' said Mr Hong.
'Even if employers pay three locals $60 each for CPF, they will still make a small saving and the foreigners will work longer hours,' he said.
Labour agents like Mr William Tan, the licensee for Foreign Recruitment Centre, said unlicensed agents are often responsible for phantom workers.
'Employers need labour so they sometimes advise them to do this,' he said.
Assistant Professor Cheolsung Park at the National University of Singapore's department of economics said that while the practice is not that widespread, phantom workers are used to cut costs.
'They are cheaper and particularly in the recession, employers will want to save.'
Singaporean engineering student Luo Yong Hui, 24, observed the scam at work when he did a stint as a production operator in a factory in Tuas during his school holidays about a year ago.
He was told by foreign workers there that the employers were using locals to give a false headcount.
'The staff comprised about 80 per cent foreigners. The foreign workers earned about $400 a month while the locals earned almost twice this amount,' he said.
'So even after providing CPF to phantom workers, the employers still saved money.'
Employers who play by the rules say errant operators have an unfair advantage over them, particularly now that there is the Jobs Credit scheme.
Mr Lim Leong Tarn, 62, who is in charge of the Yishun Ring Road Eating House coffee shop, said he hires only local workers.
'It isn't fair. The Government may not check when giving out Jobs Credit. As long as the supposed employees fulfil certain criteria, they'll just give out money,' he said.
An MOM spokesman said that companies submitting work permit applications for foreign workers have to declare the number of local employees that are employed by them and that CPF contributions are made to these employees.
'MOM has in place processes to flag unusual company profiles, which may indicate the existence of 'phantom' workers,' he said.
'On-site checks are also made at companies to ascertain if the employees are working for the company.'
He added that the cases identified by MOM and currently under investigation include coffee shops, freight forwarders, construction firms and others.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance added, in reference to the Jobs Credit scheme: 'In any scheme, there is a possibility of abuse.'
It will work closely with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the CPF Board which are administering the scheme to ensure that abuse is minimised, he said.
Quota system

Industry players say the phantom workers phenomenon is also the result of the foreign worker quota scheme as well as the unwillingness of locals to work in certain jobs.
For example, for every local worker employed, the construction sector can hire seven foreign workers; the marine sector, five; and service and landscaping sector, one.
Mr Bob Tan, general manager of A-Star Food Court, said that it can be difficult to hire local workers and government quotas may need to be revised.
'With the current system, employers may have difficulty employing workers. Some may not have enough local headcount and consequently not even be able to hire foreign workers,' he said.
Then again, Singaporeans - especially younger ones - may not want the jobs offered.
A spokesman for Start Point Employment Services said that local workers are picky about jobs and often quit easily.
'When you hire foreign workers, you have more control and their employment is more stable. Employers may have no choice but to turn to foreigners,' she said.
Some suggested reviewing the quotas currently in place and training local workers.
Said Dr Park: 'Quotas create problems because they create artificial barriers and people will find ways around them. What we should focus on is giving local workers a competitive advantage by improving their skills.'
Others advocate strong enforcement of the existing rules.
Said MP Josephine Teo: 'Once there is clear indication that MOM is actively enforcing the rules, awareness will rise and employers will realise the consequences of flouting the law.'
Still, some see a bright side to all this.
Mrs Teo said that the Jobs Credit scheme might end up giving older Singaporean workers an advantage.
She explained: 'Employers need not pay as much CPF for older workers, and with the Jobs Credit scheme, it may be cheaper for employers to just hire locals. Hopefully, this will tilt the balance in their favour.'
[email protected] What are your views on 'phantom' workers? Send them to [email protected]

 

[ahbengsong]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Singapore's PHANTOM WORKERS
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.. there are ten employees in the photo.. 6 are foreigners and the other 4 are a mix of sinkees and PRs... likely only 1~2 sinkees in the group...

 

[UpYoz_olo]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Singapore's PHANTOM WORKERS

</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Their names are on the payroll and payouts are made to their CPF accounts - but they don't work. Errant employers use this scam to get around a quota system for hiring cheaper foreign labour </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Shuli Sudderuddin

</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>

</TD><TD width=10>

</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>

Must Eat coffee shop supervisor Chuang Yu Ming (in red) with the Toa Payoh Central coffee shop's other employees of various nationalities. Besides Singaoporeans and permanent residents, the workers include three China nationals and three Malaysians. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Mrs Josephine Teo, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, recently met a retired woman in her 60s at her Meet-the-People session.
'She wasn't working but discovered that money had been deposited in her CPF account,' she said.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Quotas in different sectors
Construction sector

For every full-time Singapore citizen or permanent resident employed by a company which makes regular full-month Central Provident Fund contributions, it can employ seven foreign workers.

... more​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The woman was puzzled about this and brought it up to the MP.
'We alerted the Ministry of Manpower and found that someone knew of her identification and employment status and submitted an application to hire her,' said MrsTeo.
Meet the 'phantom' worker.
Under the law, sectors such as service and manufacturing must employ a number of Singaporeans or permanent residents before they can hire foreign workers.
Some employers get around this by employing local workers in name only and contributing to their CPF. Having these phantom workers, who are often retirees, on their payroll allows them to hire more foreign workers.
Phantom workers made the news recently when Mr Ong Ah Heng, Nee Soon Central MP, drew Parliament's attention to their existence.
He was approached by a coffee shop owner who felt that errant coffee shop operators would benefit unfairly from the Jobs Credit scheme announced in Parliament.
Under the $4.5 billion scheme which is meant to stave off retrenchments, employers get a 12 per cent cash grant on the first $2,500 of wages for every Singaporean or permanent resident on their CPF payroll.
'People fear that the scheme is going to be put to waste because money is going to go to people who aren't actually paying local workers,' Mr Ong said to The Sunday Times.
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, inflating the foreign-worker entitlement by falsely declaring the number of local workers is punishable with a fine of up to $15,000 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.
Besides the employer, the 'phantom' worker may also face the same penalty for abetting the offence.

I get 10% off every purchases made there, so why not???? Find me one with better discount, I make sure my next meal will not be @ Kopitiam!

The bloody CB cyber kopitiam also infested with FT what; bloody CB owner aka Sammy Leong has claimed he surrendered his little red passport long ago! How come you didn't boycott????