17/03/2021 How did 5,000 salary claims a year become 1,400 over five years? – TWC2 agreement is signed for $4,100 and the employer pays up. Has the worker “successfully recovered… fully” even though the shortfall in salary was $8,000? 2. Reduction in claim amount due to cap Example: a worker has been shortpaid $27,000 and his evidence is strong. But under the Employment Claims Act, there is a cap of $20,000 on how much he can claim under this Act. He thus reduces his quantum of claim to $20,000 in order to avail himself of the process prescribed by the Act and eventually succeeds in his claim. The employer pays up $20,000 when so ordered by the Employment Claims Tribunal. Has the worker “successfully recovered… fully”? 3. Failure to honour Tribunal Order Example: a worker has been shortpaid $13,000 and no settlement could be arrived at the TADM mediation stage. The claim goes up to the Employment Claims Tribunal where the magistrate nds in his favour. An Order of Tribunal is issued for the employer to pay the worker $13,000. No payment is made, and MOM is unable to enforce the order. MOM then tells the worker that as far as they are concerned, the case is “concluded”, and the worker is repatriated. Would such a case be counted among the “successfully recovered… fully” statistic simply because the tribunal has found in the worker’s favour? What the above examples show is that reality is very granular. That being the case, it may be too much to expect a minister to reply in su cient detail, especially if speaking off the cuff, but we certainly can expect the Tripartite Alliance to produce a better quality of report. Just as company annual reports, for all their prose in the front pages, have to enclose detailed nancial statements, complete with copious footnotes, so the Employment Standards Report should also contain detailed statistical tables and footnotes in its annexures. Nicely worded paragraphs and graphics — which one immediately associates with spin — do not substitute for the rigourous transparency and accountability that only statistical tables provide. twc2.org.sg/2021/03/08/how-did-5000-salary-claims-a-year-become-1400-over-five-years/?fbclid=IwAR3ndC6fHNpfjRFmcV9VKV2f4_D0-B5MyB… 7/8