MOM Investigating After Some Nurses & Vaccinators Complained That They Weren’t Paid

Frontline workers deserve all the appreciation and acclaim they’re getting.

Every day, many of them risk their own health to treat those suffering from COVID-19. In return, we can show our gratitude in a few ways:

1. Not avoiding them on public transport
2. Smiling at them
3. Penning notes of appreciation

The first thing we should do before anything else, however, is to ensure that they’re paid for their work.

MOM Investigating After Some Nurses & Vaccinators Complained That They Weren’t Paid

Several workers at Bukit Timah Community Club vaccination centre have complained that they have not been paid over a month’s worth of salaries.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) said that they have received 9 complaints from people who had been engaged as vaccinators and nurses at one of the vaccination centres about not being paid.

8 of the healthcare workers at the centre told ST they haven’t received their salary for the month of May and some for the first week of June.

Since 15 June, they have been allegedly owed payments of between around S$1,300 and over S$4,500.

TODAY reported that 20 affected workers at the centre have started a chat group due to the unpaid salaries, though it’s unclear how many workers are owed payments. 6 group members have filed police reports.

Two Firms Pointing Finger at Each Other

Instead of simply paying the healthcare workers and resolving the issue, the two firms at the heart of this dispute – Megamanpower and Singapore Ambulance Association (SAA) – are playing the blame game.

SAA claims that Megamanpower has not made payment for its services, which has delayed workers’ salaries as a result.

But Megamanpower claimed that it has already made its payments, and that SAA simply hasn’t yet paid its workers.

The two firms are now being investigated by MOM.

Contracts Suddenly Terminated

The workers at the centre first applied for the job in February when Megamanpower, a recruitment agency, put out an advertisement.

Others joined through referrals from friends.

However, when the workers signed their contracts, they noticed that SAA was named as their employer, which puzzled them.

When asked about this, Megamanpower explained to workers that the two companies were working together or even “pretty much the same” entity.

After just a month into their jobs, some of them noticed problems with salary payments.

Then, on 7 June, the affected workers received a message in a Telegram group chat telling them not to turn up for work the next day.

They were also told, out of the blue, that their contracts would be terminated.

SAA: Couldn’t Support Workers Due to Lack of Payments

SAA claimed that they were forced to terminate their workers’ contracts because its client, Megamanpower, had not made payment to SAA for five months.

As a result, their costs “escalated to a point where it is no longer rational to support Megamanpower’s vaccination project any longer”, it said.

Contrary to what Megamanpower said earlier, SAA maintained that it and Megamanpower are two separate companies.

“There was a collaboration between SAA and Megamanpower on several projects from February 2021 to around June 2021. Disputes have arisen between Megamanpower and SAA and the matter has been referred to lawyers.”

The vaccination centre is run by Parkway Shenton, who hired Megamanpower to supply workers until early June.

Megamanpower then approached SAA for supply of medics and nurses.

As you can tell, it’s a rather messy situation. Let’s just hope it gets resolved so the workers can get paid for their work.

Featured Image: Mahsun YILDIZ / Shutterstock.com