26/05/2021 Cases of false declaration of Singapore migrant workers' salaries rising, says NGO, Singapore News & Top Stories - The Straits Ti… Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) executive director Sim Gim Guan said: "There will be records, which would make it harder for irresponsible employers to make false declarations." MOM, SNEF and the National Trades Union Congress are in discussions to extend this arrangement to more workers, he added. Associate Professor Ravi Chandran, who teaches employment law at the National University of Singapore Business School, suggests making it mandatory for salary payments to be made via Giro, noting that electronic salary transfers are mandatory in Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. But both Prof Ravi and Home's Mr Tan said electronic payments are not foolproof. Mr Tan said: "We have had cases where employers paid the correct amount electronically, but forced workers to repay it in cash." This modus operandi was employed in the recent case involving confectionery chain Twelve Cupcakes. For months in 2018, the firm credited the full fixed salaries of seven employees, but made them return part of their wages in cash. This enabled Twelve Cupcakes to avoid detection by not leaving a paper trail, MOM's prosecutor said during a hearing in December last year. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Former radio DJ Daniel Ong fined $65,000 over underpaid workers at Twelve Cupcakes Company fined $52,000 for inflating salaries of foreign workers in work pass applications A more drastic measure to prevent false declarations could be to have a third party handle salary payments, said Prof Ravi. One possibility could be the Central Provident Fund Board, which already collects foreign worker levies on MOM's behalf. "The question would be whether all employers, and the Government, have to pay the price for the actions of a few bad sheep," added Prof Ravi. Mr Sim said most employers are responsible. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cases-of-false-declaration-of-migrant-workers-salaries-rising-says-ngo-0 7/11