SINGAPORE: A company named in a pay dispute, which involves a group of Bangladeshi workers who have not been given work since arriving in Singapore half a year ago, said the workers did not have the set of skills required.

Speaking through its lawyer Alfred Tan, Entrade Marine & Industrial told Channel NewsAsia's Get Rea! that the company needed workers with shipyard welding skills.

The welfare of foreign workers, especially their housing needs, has been making headlines lately.

In the first episode of the new season of Get Rea!, the housing issue and the pay dispute involving Entrade were investigated.

Entrade said it could not give jobs to the workers brought in by a labour agent as the workers failed the skills certification tests set by the shipyard.

Altogether, 117 workers were involved; 56 of them passed a re-test after training, and have been given jobs. To help those who did not pass the re-test, Entrade is giving them a nominal daily allowance for food.

A Bangladeshi worker said: "If we get really hungry, we buy one big loaf of bread for S$1.40, and we share that bread, soaked in water."

The Manpower Ministry told Get Rea! that 38 of the 47 workers entitled to salary payments have been paid. The ministry is facilitating payments to the rest and is investigating the case.

Regarding the mismatch of workers and skills, Entrade said it has no control over the labour agent in Bangladesh, nor does it share in the labour agency fees paid by the foreign workers.

The Bangladeshi workers involved in the dispute told Get Rea! some of them had paid as much as S$8,000 each to come to Singapore.

Tan said he has advised his client not to accept labour from unaccredited labour agencies.

Catch the return of Get Rea! on Channel NewsAsia at 8.30pm and 11.30pm on Monday, and 1.30pm on Tuesday.

- CNA/yt