Twelve Cupcakes under MOM probe for unpaid salaries, abrupt retrenchment of 80 staff

SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is investigating Twelve Cupcakes for non-payment of salaries and other potential breaches after the bakery chain

abruptly dismissed about 80 employees on Oct 29.

In a joint statement with the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board on Oct 31, MOM said it will take enforcement action and impose penalties if necessary.

The CPF Board will also file a claim with the liquidator, AAG Corporate Advisory, to recover outstanding contributions for September and October.

The authorities noted that, despite being a unionised company under the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU), the confectionery chain had abruptly closed without advance notice to the union or its employees – a move they called irresponsible and “not aligned with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment”.

“While retrenchments may be unavoidable, employees should be treated in a responsible and sensitive manner,” they added.

MOM said its priority is to help the affected workers find fresh employment.

The Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation, which consists of MOM, Workforce Singapore, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, is working closely with Twelve Cupcakes and FDAWU to support affected employees.

This includes providing job-matching support and career coaching.

The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management will also assist affected employees who need to file claims for their salaries and other employment claims with the liquidator.

About 15 employees had met earlier on Oct 31 at the MOM Services Centre in Bendemeer Road to ask about outstanding salaries and payments owed to them by the shuttered cupcake business.

Some workers did not receive their CPF contributions in October, The Business Times reported.

Meanwhile, a group of affected staff are preparing a fund-raiser on Give.Asia to raise $100,000 to help affected employees cover rent, food and basic expenses while awaiting updates from the liquidator, Mothership reported.

In an e-mail to The Straits Times on Oct 30, AAG said the firm is gathering the necessary information and will convene a creditors’ meeting within the next four weeks to provide an update on the status of the liquidation, as required by law.

In its statement on Oct 30, FDAWU said it was informed of Twelve Cupcakes’ closure here only on the same day as the company’s announcement to its workers on Oct 29. It added that it “strongly objects to the business owner’s complete lack of prior consultation and advance notice of their decision”.

Since its establishment in 2011 by entertainment artiste Jaime Teo and her then husband, former radio DJ Daniel Ong, the company has been embroiled in multiple cases involving underpayment of salaries.

Ms Teo and Mr Ong were fined $65,000 each in 2021 for underpaying the company’s foreign employees between 2013 and 2016.

The pair, who are now divorced, sold the company to Indian tea company Dhunseri Group in December 2016. Dhunseri also received a fine of $119,500 in January 2021 for underpaying seven of its foreign employees.

The Dhunseri Group did not respond to ST’s queries.