Non-domestic migrant workers at HOME: Issues at a glance
Introduction
What are some of the issues witnessed at HOME’s non-domestic casework helpdesk?
In this article and in several subsequent articles, we will spotlight issues encountered by migrant workers, as observed through our helpdesk. At the same time, we will highlight trends that emerged in recent years.
In this article, we write about HOME’s observations as regards prolonged investigations for work injury cases, default of levy payments by employers, and the effects of these issues on the lives of migrant workers.
Work Injury Cases
Prolonged Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) Investigations
In 2023, HOME saw more WICA cases in which investigation of claim validity was prolonged more than a year after the injured worker’s accident.
Why is this a problem?
After one year from their date of injury, workers are no longer covered for medical expenses under WICA insurance. Likewise, injured workers are no longer entitled to medical leave wages more than one year from the accident. Furthermore, during the investigation period, the general position is that injured workers are not entitled to medical leave wages.[1]
What is the effect of protracted investigation on migrant workers?
First, prolonged investigations deprive the injured workers of much needed treatment. For major medical or diagnostic procedures, many injured workers' employers refuse to pay for these medical expenses pending the validity of WICA claims. This resulted in injured workers being denied their much needed treatment and diagnosis. HOME has encountered cases where, by the time investigations concluded, the injured worker’s WICA medical treatment coverage had expired.
Secondly, suspension of medical leave wages means that workers often leave injured workers and their families in deeper debt just to meet basic needs. Thirdly, the 1-year limit on MC wages worsens the financial pressure on injured workers as they borrow to make up for lack of income if the case exceeds a year.
Case study:
Mohammad (not his real name) injured his back at work in June 2022. His employer did not provide proper treatment for the next several months. He eventually went to hospital himself, and reported his injury himself a few months later.
After he approached HOME, HOME helped him submit evidence of his injury to the insurer. But 1 year after his accident, his case was still under investigation, i.e. the validity of his case was still being determined. This means that he was not able to continue his treatment as it would no longer be covered under WICA insurance, although he was recommended for back surgery. He also did not receive his medical leave wages for the whole year and beyond.
Unfair WICA Investigations
Previously, HOME has highlighted the practice of insurers taking formal statements from workers using employers’ staff for translation purposes. These staff are often fellow migrant workers who are the injured workers’ supervisors or colleagues. We continued to observe this trend in 2023. This includes cases in which the employer denied the validity of the WICA claim, which is especially problematic. Employers have an interest in minimising work injury claims to maintain a clean safety record so that insurance premiums do not increase, and so that they do not face penalties.
This is unfair to the injured worker. Being untrained in interpretation, migrant workers may not be able to translate interview questions from English accurately and in a way which elicits a complete answer; nor be able to translate their injured colleague’s answers fully and accurately. More fundamentally, fellow workers are beholden to the employer for their continued employment and supporting their families. Many are afraid to be seen as going against their employer. The interview record may be tainted when translated by a party who is neither neutral nor disinterested.
HOME recommends:
Determining WICA claims’ validity should be the role of the Ministry of Manpower, rather than insurers. Once the claims’ validity is established, processing can be delegated to insurers. Interviews should be conducted with trained interpreters who are disinterested from the WICA claims process.
WICA claims processing should be held to substantive, binding and publicly available standards, backed by robust accountability mechanisms to proactively detect and responsively redress breaches. In this regard, the WICA Insurer’s Manual, which is referred to in MOM’s licensing conditions, should be made public.
Medical expenses should be covered as a basic human right, regardless whether the claim validity is established: if not covered under WICA, then they should be under the non-WICA medical insurance.
Medical leave wages should be paid once medical leave is issued to the worker, and not be left pending subject to the validity of the work injury claim.
Default of Levy Payments by employers
Employers are required to pay a foreign worker levy (FWL) for every non-Malaysian migrant worker hired. In the construction industry, the levy can go up to S$900 per worker monthly.[2]
In 2023, HOME was aware of 41 cases where employers defaulted on levy payment, resulting in workers’ work passes being revoked. In most cases we saw in 2023, salaries were also delayed. Affected workers were anxious over their job security, given their employer’s obvious financial difficulties. When they request the authorities’ permission to seek alternative employment, they are informed that once their work permits are reinstated upon payment of levy arrears, they must seek their employers’ consent in order to change jobs.
This approach imposes additional precarity on an already disenfranchised group of workers, whose right to work is firstly dependent on their employers adhering to regulatory requirements such as the levy. Even when their employers have defaulted on such payments, presumably because of financial constraints, employers are still able to exercise control over workers’ job mobility and consent is required for workers to change jobs.
In HOME’s experience, workers are left in limbo sometimes for months, not allowed to earn an income or find alternative employment.
Case study:
14 workers from a harbourcraft service company contacted HOME when their permits were revoked due to non-payment of levy and wages. Due to the company’s financial difficulties and the offshore nature of their work, they were also unable to come ashore and had to crew the vessels even without income. They were told they would be repatriated first and outstanding wages would be remitted later. Most of them were desperate not to return as many were from Myanmar and feared returning to civil conflict.
HOME recommends:
Migrant workers whose employers have defaulted on their levy payments and whose work passes have been revoked as a result, should have the immediate right to change employers.
[1] HOME has observed employers who withhold medical leave wages pending investigations into the WICA claim’s validity, and such employers are not taken to task by authorities for non-payment of such wages. For a more detailed analysis of this issue, see: https://twc2.org.sg/2024/01/16/mc-wages-how-a-piece-of-social-protection-legislation-has-been-twisted-to-inflict-cruelty-on-workers/
[2] Ministry of Manpower, Construction sector: Work Permit Requirements: https://www.mom.gov.sg/passes-and-permits/work-permit-for-foreign-worker/sector-specific-rules/construction-sector-requirements