Singapore's Manpower Ministry Probes About 45 Changi Airport Firms: Some 270 Foreign Workers Suspected of Doing Baggage Handling on Falsely Declared Employment Passes
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a press release on November 2 that it is investigating around 45 companies involved in airport operations at Changi Airport for suspected offences and infringements under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 (EFMA), including false declarations and illegal deployment of foreign workers.
During a recent inspection at Changi Airport, MOM found Employment Pass (EP) holders deployed to perform baggage handling services. Preliminary investigations suggest that the salaries and occupations declared to MOM for these EP holders were false. Other work pass holders were also found performing baggage handling work, which was different from their declared occupations. The Employment Pass is Singapore's work pass for foreign professionals, managers and executives, subject to a minimum salary threshold, and does not correspond to manual baggage-handling jobs.
Investigations have so far identified around 270 workers whose deployment may not have been in compliance with work pass regulations. These workers were employed by contractors and sub-contractors of SATS, the airport ground services provider. MOM has directed SATS to strengthen its oversight of the companies it has contracted, including verifying that foreign workers are deployed in accordance with their work passes, and rectifying any compliance deficiencies.
MOM said investigations are ongoing and it will take enforcement action if breaches of the EFMA are established. Under the Act, making a false declaration in a work pass application carries a fine of up to S$20,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both. Members of the public aware of suspected work pass infringements are encouraged to report them through MOM's Report an Infringement eService.
Source: Ministry of Manpower, Singapore
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：新加坡樟宜机场第三航站楼。CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Terminal 3 of Singapore Changi Airport. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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