MOM investigating allegations of companies misusing passes for hiring foreign students, trainees

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is investigating allegations that companies are misusing passes that permit employers to hire foreign students and intra-corporate trainees for up to three months.

In response to queries from CNA, MOM said that it takes these claims of misuse of the Training Employment Passes (TEPs) "seriously" and is already investigating the matter. It has also completed its investigations into some of the claims.

MOM said that it was unable to comment on the outcomes of the completed investigations as it was still looking into some of the other claims.

According to MOM, TEPs allow foreigners to undergo practical training for professional, managerial, executive or specialist jobs in Singapore.

A company can apply for a TEP if it wishes to hire a foreign student or a trainee from a foreign office or subsidiary.

The ministry said that it does "additional checks and audits" on "selected" TEP applications, by asking for proof of training programmes and foreign offices or subsidiaries.

To hire a foreign student, their training attachment in Singapore must be part of their course of study, and they must be studying at an "acceptable institution" or earn a "fixed monthly salary" of at least S$3,000 (US$2,330), said the ministry. 

To hire a trainee from a foreign office or subsidiary, they must earn a fixed monthly salary of at least S$3,000.

In an article titled "Management executives washing dishes", non-profit Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) posted on its website last month, it said that it had seen 13 workers on TEPs between Dec 1 last year and Apr 26 this year.

"We have never before seen so many workers on this kind of work pass in such a short time. Nearly all of them complained about salary irregularities, but at least one of them pointed to long working hours as his biggest problem," the article said.

"However, when we found out more about the circumstances which led to their working in Singapore, we could see the contours of a rapidly widening job scam."

According to TWC2, five of the individuals were sent to work in a food and beverage establishment, five in a warehouse, two at cleaning companies and one at a company described as a "tour coach agency".

The men were paid less than what was stated in their in-principle agreements, worked "horrendous hours" and were put to work almost immediately upon arrival in Singapore, the non-profit alleged. They were also not sent to MOM to have their TEPs issued, as required by the ministry, until nearly 30 days after arrival, it said.

"MOM will not hesitate to take enforcement action against errant employers who misuse TEPs to circumvent our work pass framework," the ministry added.

"This includes suspending errant employers' work pass privileges, administering financial penalties or even prosecution depending on the severity of the breach. Affected workers may reach out to MOM for assistance."