The guest workers are suspected of being in arrears of wages. After the foreign labor center intervened, it was found that many guest workers had to pay their own savings to cover daily expenses. At present, about 200 people have been provided with daily meals until the relevant problems are resolved.

On the afternoon of Tuesday (October 18), several guest workers came to the gate of a company in Ang Maoqiao and held up paper to recover the arrears.

The company later clarified that the cause of the incident came from a dispute between Shanghai Zhongji, the main contractor of the renovation project, and the second-hand contractor Chia Tai.

After the

incident attracted attention, the Foreign Labor Center quickly intervened in the investigation and stated on Facebook on Wednesday (October 19) that they had joined forces with the Construction and Wood Workers Federation to actively contact and assist the affected guest workers.

In the evening of the incident, the staff of the Foreign Labor Center went to Punggol S11 dormitory to learn more about the situation of Shanghai Zhongji guest workers, including whether they faced work problems. They are also concerned about the physical and mental health of the guest workers and are ready to help when needed.

After talking to 30 guest workers for about half an hour, the center staff found that many were facing difficulties at work, and some even had to use their personal savings to cover daily food and transportation expenses.

In an emergency, the center proceeded to arrange daily meals for about 200 guest workers from Shanghai Zhongji in the dormitory until the relevant problems were resolved.

The Ministry of Manpower will be notified of the incident

The Foreign Labor Center will notify the Ministry of Manpower of the incident and cooperate with the authorities to promptly deal with the guest labor issues of the two contractors.

At the same time, the Construction and Wood Workers Federation will also contact the management of the two companies to ensure that the rights and interests of employees are safeguarded.

Construction workers facing work problems may visit the https://www.tal.sg/tadm website or contact the Labour Dispute Mediation Union (TADM) by appointment.

FTU members can also contact the Construction and Wood Workers Federation by calling the hotline (62201233) or email (batu@ntuc.org.sg), or submit their claims through the hotline (62138008) and the website www.ntuc.org.sg/workplaceadvisory.

Guest workers can contact the Foreign Labour Centre via the 24-hour hotline (6536 2692) or email feedback@mwc.org.sg.