Punish criminal acts but deter errant bosses, too

This letter was published in TODAY on 29 July 2011.

I refer to the report "5 weeks in jail for criminal trespass" (July 22).

It claimed that Yang Wei could have lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for his unpaid wages but instead "took matters into his own hands" by climbing up a crane at a worksite. In fact, he had previously gone to the MOM over unpaid salary, medical leave wages and medical expenses – a worker's entitlements under the law.

However, he claimed to us at the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics that, during the mediation, the employer allegedly refused to pay up and insisted on making a further deduction.

These are not exceptional cases. As a volunteer with the migrant worker group, I have met, over the years, construction workers who have been denied salaries and other entitlements and who endure frustrating delays during the settlement process that cause further hardship.

Such workers are frequently subjected to oppressive managerial control and unreasonable employer behaviour, including being bound to contracts with illegal terms and/or threats. Workers who face additional burdens such as critical family illnesses and marital strife, exacerbated by their inability to send money home, go through high levels of emotional stress.

In Yang Wei's case, the law has taken its course and he has been sentenced. However, misleading representations further criminalise a worker whose act of desperation came after he was denied his salary payments.

It is important to note that his employer later paid him S$5,000, a settlement amount that is now with the authorities, and which will be returned to him after his release.

A more balanced approach in deterrence should include harsher measures meted out to recalcitrant employers who remain non-compliant despite official intervention.

Workers lodge complaints at the MOM with much hope that it will assist in resolving their disputes. Greater pressure should be placed on employers who refuse to pay workers as opposed to unpaid workers feeling they need to compromise by accepting whatever they are given, despite the shortfall.

Stephanie Chok Juin Mei