Chew Ming Hui, Author at Goody Feed

Concerns about migrant workers' rights have been going around for years in Singapore. However, a recent Reddit post might just have reignited discussion about the issue once again. A few migrant workers were spotted holding placards outside a BTO worksite, and netizens think they were protesting unpaid salaries. Here's what you need to know about it. Migrant Workers Spotted Holding Placards Outside BTO Worksite On Thursday (24 October), a Reddit post showing some migrant workers holding placards outside a BTO worksite made its rounds on social media. In a photo attached to the Reddit post, there appeared to be five migrant workers in civilian clothes holding placards, while another worker donning a construction vest seemed to be speaking to those holding placards. Image: Reddit While it is clear that the photo was taken outside a BTO worksite, and others have shared that the photo appears to be taken outside a BTO worksite in Dakota, there has been no confirmation on exactly which BTO worksite the photo was taken outside of. And if you were just about to click on the link to the Reddit post to find out yourself — don't bother. For some reason, the original Reddit post has since been deleted. Netizens Speculate that Migrant Workers Were "Protesting" Unpaid Salaries At this point, there's probably one big question on your mind: "Why were the workers holding placards? Was it a "protest" as the Reddit post put it, or were the workers holding the placards for other reasons?" Some netizens on Reddit have speculated that the migrant workers were holding placards to "protest" unpaid salaries. Netizens have also shared that if this was the case, it could be a sign of a deeper problem — BTO builders having cash flow problems. If so, the quality of BTO projects could potentially be compromised. Image: Reddit If this is true, then good luck to all those BTO-ing soon lah. MOM Responds: Migrant Workers Were Not Owed Salary Payments However, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has since responded. The ministry confirmed that the migrant workers were not owed salary payments as netizens thought. According to a Facebook post uploaded by MOM on Saturday (26 October), the ministry has since engaged the relevant migrant workers to find out more about what happened. "The workers shared that they were not owed salary payments and did not report any well-being concerns," MOM said. While the ministry also added that police investigations are currently ongoing, there was not much shared by the ministry about whether the migrant workers were "protesting" outside the BTO worksite. As most of us already know, Singapore generally restricts the right to protest without a police permit. If the migrant workers were indeed "protesting" outside the BTO worksite, things may not end very well for them. We can only wait and see what the police investigations reveal. Migrant Workers Protested in 2022 Over Unpaid Salary Payments Earlier in 2022, nine migrant workers employed by construction firm Shanghai Chong Kee held up signs outside a building in Ang Mo Kio to demand their unpaid salaries. Following investigations into the incident, it was revealed that the firm had omitted to pay the salaries of nearly 300 migrant workers. With MOM's assistance, the firm worked out a payment schedule to pay off the migrant workers' unpaid salaries. At least this time, we're glad the migrant workers spotted with placards outside the BTO worksite weren't owed salaries lah.