http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/construction-workers-yishun-demand-pay-refuse-063411977.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Together there are about 20 workers of Sime Chong Construction Pte Ltd. who are refusing to work.
The Chinese workers have been working in Singapore for some four to five years, and this is the first time that they have taken things into their own hands.
Four of the 20-odd workers have decided to speak up. Each of them is owed a range of between S$2,400 to S$5,600 in salaries.
The men say they have been told by their employer that the company has no money and thus could not pay them. "But the construction project is still carrying on," one of the men says, pointing to the ongoing construction of some HDB flats in Yishun where they are located, and which the company is involved in.
They say they have also approached the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for help but to no avail so far. "The Manpower Ministry says if the company doesn't want to pay us, there is nothing it can do," one of the workers says. The rest nodded their heads in agreement.
The men have been given special passes (S-Pass) to stay in Singapore in order to resolve their pay dispute. However, the passes are valid only until the 26th of December.
When asked what they would do if their employer still refuses to pay up, the men kept silent, unsure of their options. They repeated that the MOM had told them even it would not be able to do anything. What they face would be repatriation, without having their owed salaries recovered, as has happened to other workers in the past.
The ministry's attitude, the men say, was also one of apparent disinterest. One of the men says there was no response to his phone call when he tried calling the ministry. Another time, one of the men tried calling the ministry again but the official seemed impatient and only said that MOM will speak to their employer and hung up the phone.
According to the men, they approached the ministry twice — the first time on the 7th of November and the second time on the 15th of November. The 26th of December, on which date their S-Pass would expire, is effectively the deadline which they have to recover their salaries. So, the men are desperate.
One of them says his wife has been quite ill back home in China and he has requested to go home. But so far, there has been no response from his employer. Another man has a medical condition which requires surgery but he too has had his pleas ignored by his employer.
The Indian workers have downed tools only Tuesday and are awaiting the employer's response in the evening. They have been told by him that he will pay them their salaries on the same day. The workers have been owed two months' worth of salaries.
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