26/05/2021 Cases of false declaration of Singapore migrant workers' salaries rising, says NGO, Singapore News & Top Stories - The Straits Ti… But once discovered, they are usually prosecuted as they involve employers lying to the authorities, circumventing the law and bringing in more foreign workers than they otherwise could. However, getting justice is not always clear-cut. In Ahmed's case, it was hard to prove that the IPA letter stating his basic pay was $1,600 was genuine. While he claimed he was owed more than $20,000 in wages, including overtime, his employer was ordered to pay about $4,600, only a fifth of what was claimed. Home, which helped Ahmed during his claim, said it highlighted the IPA issues to MOM. So far, it is not aware of any court proceedings or investigations against Ahmed's employer in relation to the discrepancies in the declared salaries. Ms Goh Seow Hui, a partner at law firm Bird & Bird ATMD, said false salary declarations occur when there is extremely unequal bargaining power between employer and employee, a point also raised by Home and TWC2. Associate Professor Ravi Chandran, who teaches employment law at the National University of Singapore Business School, said workers may be afraid of complaining as they may lose their jobs. This is especially so for workers who have to take huge loans to come to Singapore to work. Mr Au said the authorities should address this imbalance of power, instead of pouring more resources into policing and investigations. "We have to explore various ways to address recruitment fees, and we need to give workers the right, and a reasonable period of time, to change jobs," he said. "The price of resigning is too high in Singapore." MORE ON THIS TOPIC Cut migrant workers' illegal recruitment fees by boosting transparency Migrant burden: How foreign workers are illegally recruited in S'pore https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cases-of-false-declaration-of-migrant-workers-salaries-rising-says-ngo-0 5/11