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Relief fund to help low-wage workers with salary woes

SINGAPORE — Starting from today, low-wage workers who are owed salaries because their employers are unable to pay up can get temporary financial help through a fund that pays up to S$1,000 or one month’s salary to each claimant.

SINGAPORE — Starting from today, low-wage workers who are owed salaries because their employers are unable to pay up can get temporary financial help through a fund that pays up to S$1,000 or one month’s salary to each claimant.

The short-term relief fund, funded by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and operated by the new Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), is meant to tide the worker over while he/she looks for a job and awaits social assistance. It is expected to cover the bottom 20th percentile of the workforce.

The TADM will operate one centre at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability that focuses on local employees, and another at the MOM’s services centre to cater to work-pass holders.

The TADM will begin offering mediation services for employment disputes from today.

If mediation is unsuccessful in salary-related disputes, the matter can be brought before the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT), which also starts operating today.

The tribunals, which come under the State Courts, is meant to cater to a growing demand for affordable dispute resolution platforms, especially among workers who are not covered under the Employment Act — those earning more than S$4,500 a month.

Before this, it was the Labour Court which heard salary-related claims for such workers. Those with larger pay cheques must file their claims with the civil courts, which entailed a long and costly process.

Under the new framework passed in Parliament last August, all employees, regardless of their income levels, can bring their salary-related claims to the TADM by requesting mediation — within one year after the claim arises, or six months if the employee has left the company.

These include claims of up to S$20,000 — such as unpaid salary, maternity and retrenchment benefits — from all workers ranging from interns under a contract of service to professionals. The limit is S$30,000 for union members.

It costs S$10 to register a claim below S$10,000 with the TADM, or S$20 otherwise.

TADM will fix a mediation session with the worker and employer within three weeks. Union representatives may be present for their members during mediation. Resolutions at mediation sessions can be registered at the courts to be legally binding and enforced by the courts.

Low-wage workers who are not paid because their employers’ business has failed will be guided to apply for the relief fund.

If mediation is unsuccessful, TADM can help refer the case to the ECT. Neither party can be legally represented at the tribunal. It costs S$30 to lodge a claim below S$10,000 at the tribunal. Higher claims will cost S$60.

If the worker still does not receive what is due to him following tribunal proceedings, TADM will refer the case to the MOM for appropriate enforcement action.

The MOM said it had received 8,000 to 9,000 salary-related claims each year for the past three years. More than nine in 10 of these claims were resolved through its mediation, the ministry added.

Mediation usually fails when the employer is unable to pay, disputes the claim, or is unwilling to pay, it added.

Parties involved in non-salary-related disputes — such as unfair dismissals or employment contract breaches — can also seek mediation help via TADM. If unresolved, however, such cases will continue to be handled in the civil courts.

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