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600 bosses denied employees basic rights

Up to 22,000 employers have been assisted by WorkRight to date, an employment rights protection campaign by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Central Provident Fund (CPF).

More than half of those workers, who were victims of late salary payment, late or no Central Provident Fund contributions or overtime allowances, came from the low-wage bracket.

This was according to Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, who spoke at the inaugural WorkRight road show at Tampines Mall on Saturday.

Since November last year, 600 employers have been found to have denied workers their basic employment rights.

These were findings revealed after MOM stepped up efforts to tackle dubious employment practices, where more than 3,000 inspections and 12,000 interviews with Singaporeans were conducted.

Tan said despite measures taken by MOM, it would be a challenge to catch all employers guilty of errant employment practices, but the fact remains that many employers are unaware of their obligations.

"You might think that all employers are trying to short-change their workers. There are some employers who deliberately flout the law, but the majority are responsible," he said.

"There are also a handful who are genuinely unaware of their obligations under our employment laws. We have therefore also stepped up our efforts to educate this group of employers."

The WorkRight campaign aims to bring about compliance with the CPF Act and Employment Act (EA), to protect low-wage workers and ensure they enjoy basic employment rights.

There will be three more WorkRight road shows conducted eachweekend this month, at Bishan Junction 8 (16th November), Bukit Batok West Mall (24th November) and Woodlands Civic Centre (30th November).

Workers can report an errant employer though the WorkRight hotline at 1800-221-9922, or email at workright@mom.gov.sg.

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