Migrant workers owed wages connected to new jobs
SINGAPORE – After receiving a job offer from a construction firm on Nov 6, Bangladeshi worker Rabbani Md Golam is now hopeful that he can turn things around.
With less than $10 left to his name in Singapore, the 21-year-old had been anxiously waiting to be paid the two months’ wages he is owed.
Rabbani, who came to Singapore from the western Rajshahi district in April, had sent back almost every dollar of his past earnings to his family.
He is one of more than 230 migrant workers who have been connected with potential employers while their salary claims, lodged in October, are pending.
Some have also since received their owed wages.
Process Maintenance Solutions worker Alam Md Sabbir, who was paid in early November, said: “I feel much better now with my salary paid because I need to feed my family.”
Added the 23-year-old sole breadwinner for his family of four in Bangladesh: “We have all been very worried about our salaries and jobs the past few weeks, but now I’m happy that I can transfer to a construction company.”
Rabbani and Sabbir, along with several other workers, told The Straits Times they were interviewed by construction and process firms at a job-matching exercise on Nov 6 at the Manpower Ministry’s (MOM) onboarding centre for migrant workers in Sengkang West.
Rabbani said: “I’m not so stressed now because I can earn (a) salary again. For the past month, I’ve been borrowing money from my friends.”
Others, like Saimon Islam, 21, are waiting to hear back from the employers.
Saimon, who has not been able to work since October when his work permit was abruptly cancelled, said: “I still need to pay a $6,000 loan I took out to come to Singapore, so I really have to start working again, even if I don’t get my salary back.” He is owed three months’ wages.
Describing the mood at the Nov 6 job-matching exercise, Hassan Md Kamrul, who was interviewed by a construction firm, said: “People were laughing and hugging each other. If it was an open space, I know we would have all been cheering.
“It has been a very difficult time for us, and we come to Singapore thinking our lives will become better. Maybe that can come true now.”
The workers, mostly from Bangladesh, are from two process sector firms being investigated by MOM for unpaid wages: Process Maintenance Solutions and Jurong Technical & Construction.
Five workers from Process Maintenance Solutions said nearly all of the roughly 120 affected workers in their firm have received their owed wages. But three workers from Jurong Technical & Construction said they have yet to be paid.
ST reported on Oct 29 that workers said they stopped receiving their salaries in August and that their work permits had been cancelled in batches since late September.
Their cases come as the number of workers reporting unpaid wages who sought assistance from the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) has doubled in the first 10 months of 2026, compared with the same period in 2024 and 2025, according to figures provided by MWC to ST on Nov 6.
MOM and MWC – a non-governmental organisation affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) – have been assisting workers with their salary claims, as well as providing employment assistance and food and accommodation during the transition.
Saimon, who was working at Jurong Technical & Construction, said he has been receiving short-term financial assistance and meals from MWC.
Rabbani said he received some cash assistance from migrant advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2).
In a Facebook post on Nov 6, MWC – which organised the job-matching session with the Singapore Contractors Association Limited, the Association of Process Industry and its employment agency partners – said employers were connected with workers based on their skills and experience for relevant jobs.
This includes roles outside the process sector, it added.
Several workers, who had thought they would be restricted to the same sector, said it was a relief to be able to also seek jobs in the construction sector as it pays better than the process industry. The process sector involves specialised industrial, manufacturing and maintenance work at locations such as Jurong Island.
Construction workers earn an average monthly salary of $868, including allowances but not overtime, while those in the process sector receive an average of $771, according to a TWC2 survey published in August.
In response to ST’s queries, director of NTUC’s migrant workers segment Michael Lim said MWC is also assisting workers who find jobs themselves with their change of employer applications, where applicable. It will also continue to support workers with their salary claims and next steps.
As at Nov 3, the affected workers have also been moved to MOM’s onboarding centre, said Lim.
Separately, MOM told ST it is working with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management to resolve the affected workers’ salary claims. More than 90% of the 230 workers MWC has assisted have lodged salary claims, said Lim.
Asked for more details on its investigations into the two firms and their possible links, MOM said it is unable to provide specifics as investigations are ongoing. It did not address questions about the status of the workers’ salary claims.
The ministry added that it takes a serious view of the non-payment of salaries, and appropriate enforcement action will be taken if breaches of employment laws are established.
ST’s past checks showed that the directors of the two firms being investigated for unpaid wages had taken over separate companies previously held by a man arrested in July for suspected employment-related offences, in a case MOM believes involves a criminal syndicate.
Separately, workers said they had contacted the Bangladeshi High Commission regarding a Bangladeshi man connected with both firms, who had recruited and deployed them to the same worksites, acting as a manager.
The Bangladeshi High Commission said on Oct 26 it is aware of the case and is ready to assist MOM with investigations and assistance for workers.
