Five employers in Singapore were charged in court on Tuesday for failing to pay salaries to their employees. The employers include two food and beverage firms, a construction company, a robotics firm, and a manufacturing company.
Out of those firms, Goodmate Global, a manufacturer of metal doors, window and door frames, faced 17 charges which is the largest number among all five firms. The other employers that were charged are 3S Restaurant, WOW Holdings, Access Builders, and the sole director of Infinium Robotics, Woon Junyang.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a news release that food and beverage company 3S Restaurant faced seven charges; two for not paying salaries and five for failing to pay for work done on public holidays in addition to the gross rate of pay for that day. WOW Holdings, another company in the same domain, faced five charges under the Employment Act.
Meanwhile, construction firm Access Builders faced three charges and the sole director of Infinium Robotics Woon Junyang faced a total of four charges.
According to reports, another case will be brought before the State Courts on Thursday where Ching Hwa Ming, the director of two companies: JS Environment Enterprise and Nam Hong Engineering will face 30 charges for salary offences.
MOM said employers who fail to pay salaries to their employees can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$15,000, jailed or both. It also added that that the penalty can be doubled for repeat offenders. "Employers must pay salaries on time," said the director of employment standards enforcement Raymond Tan.
"As in these cases, MOM will take stern action against errant employers for salary non-payment, including prosecuting those who have willfully refused to comply with Labour Court orders or those who owed large amount of salaries to workers,' Tan added.
The ministry also urged the employees, who have not been paid their salaries or feel that their salaries have been wrongfully withheld, to approach MOM or their unions for assistance. This will surely improve the chances of salary recovery.
Anyone who knows of persons or employers who contravene the Employment Act can inform the MOM directly or can call the WorkRight hotline at 1800-221 9922 or workright@mom.gov.sg. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
