Rampant Use of Illegal Foreign Workers in SG

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

74449.1 Foreign workers in S'pore find illegal jobs through informal network

Amelia Tan

The Straits Times
Publication Date : 25-11-2013

At 8pm, Kazal, a Bangladeshi working in Singapore
receives a text message on his mobile phone: meet
at 9am the next day at a Jurong West coffee shop. He
knows the sender. But the assignment, as always, is
a mystery.

On arrival, the brief is delivered: He has to paint an
HDB flat and will be paid S$60 (US$48.03). Payment
is to be made at the end of the day, in cash, of
course.

Kazal, who declined to give his full name, is one of
hundreds of moonlighting foreign workers who
source for illegal jobs here through an informal
network.

Most of them are injured as a result of their legal
work. They ran away from their official employers
because they were not paid and are afraid they may
be sent home.

Their work permits are cancelled but they have been
issued special passes, which allow them to stay in
Singapore legally as they wait for compensation.

They are not allowed to work when holding special
passes but many ignore the law.

:kma:

The illegal stints, which can be from a day to a few
months, are recommended by other foreign workers
who act as middlemen for employers.

This clandestine job market is lucrative: bosses pay
workers up to S$80 a day. The men take home about
S$60, with S$20 going to the middlemen as
commission. In contrast, the men earn S$30 a day
working for their legal employers.

Workers interviewed on the condition of anonymity
said they do a diverse range of jobs and have
managed to go unnoticed as the tasks are largely
innocuous.

They clean HDB estates, work in wet markets, help
karung guni (rag and bone) men, wash cars, move
furniture, paint homes, assemble goods in factories,
do electrical wiring and general maintenance work in
offices.

Desperate to get hired, the men, who usually stay in
shophouses in Little India, take on jobs without
haggling for more pay.

Kazal, 22, who has been moonlighting for eight
months, said: "I try to ask for more money, boss say
'You go. I find other men'."

The booming sector is encouraging more workers to
run away, owners of more than 30 firms in the
marine and construction sectors told The Straits
Times last month.

Those who hire them illegally are usually small
cleaning and construction firms. Bosses who hire
workers illegally can offer higher salaries as they do
not need to pay foreign worker levies to the
government or buy insurance.

Bengali newspaper Banglar Kantha editor A.K.M.
Mohsin said many foreign workers run away and
moonlight to escape abusive bosses, but added that
they are also drawn by the attractive salaries for
illegal work. "They can earn more than $1,000 a
month, far more than with their legal employer," he
said.

However, workers said that while their daily wages
from illegal work are higher, overall takings are low
because work is irregular.

They also live in fear of being caught. Iqbal, 22, who
has been moonlighting for more than a year, said he
has a script if he is rounded up by the police. "If
police come, I say I am here to see, see. Look for my
friends."
:kma:
They can be fined up to $20,000 and/or jailed for up
to two years for working while holding a special pass.
Last month, a Bangladeshi was jailed for six weeks
for making up an accident and working illegally.
Such jobs are inherently dangerous too. The men risk
more injuries as they often are not provided with
safety equipment such as harnesses and hard hats.
Those who take on jobs for higher pay - such as
selling contraband cigarettes, codeine cough syrup
and illegal sex drugs - also face harsher penalties if
caught by the police.

Workers said they hope the authorities will allow
them to be transferred to other employers so they
can work legally. Said Kazal: "Every day I'm scared. I
want one boss. I get pay every month, don't need to
worry."



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