SINGAPORE: A restaurant director, who admitted to employing 'phantom workers' to increase his foreign worker entitlement, has been sentenced to six months' jail. Sulaiman Abdullah, also known as Tommy Goh Beng Hock, of Restu Muslim Seafood Restaurant, had earlier pleaded guilty to misleading the Manpower Ministry.
He had made CPF contributions for five Singaporeans who were not in his employment. Four were ex-workers, while another had never worked for his company. This enabled him to apply for ten foreign worker work permits.
In mitigation, Sulaiman said he tried hard to recruit Singaporeans and also hired former drug offenders. He even provided accommodation and food for some of his workers. However, District Judge Shaifuddin Saruwan said a deterrent sentence was handed down to reflect the serious nature of the offence. He also took into consideration that Sulaiman was a first-time offender and had pleaded guilty.
- CNA/so
I read the above new from Straits Times.. and i really feel sorry for this employer.. Me in the service industry and i could understand employing a Singaporean permanent staffs for thus service industry is not easy.. As most of the Singaporean are getting higher education qualification, they do not want to work long hours and during weekends.. Not to mention the low pay...
If employer were to pay $2,000 a month fix salary to a Singaporean permanent staff just to be a waiter/waitress.. The running cost will be high and finally will charge the consumer more... Thus will be less competitive.. In order to stay competitive, employers rather employ foreigners and send them for training.. (By the way employing Singaporean doesn't mean their service are better).. There are foreigners who are very passion in service and more customer orientated...
Currently Singaporean government is playing the ball as more and more Singaporean are being retrench.. and need to compete for jobs with foreigners.. Thus these Singaporean says they are ready to do any job, even customer service, where they have to work shift, burn their weekends and getting a low pay... Just to keep themselves alive during this economic downturn period...
But i can assure you that, once the economy pick up, these Singaporean will eventually leave this service industry, whip out their certificate and go for a higher pay job...
Singaporean are very practical about surviving, because they are very so call "Kiasu"...
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