Five construction firms charged for employment law breaches

SINGAPORE - Five construction firms were charged in court on Thursday with breaking employment laws.

JK Integrated, Ng Brothers Scaffolding, Shanghai Tunnel Engineering, Shanghai Tunnel Engineering (Singapore) and Straits Construction face 179 charges in total, The Manpower Ministry (MOM) said in a statement.

Alleged offences include not paying workers on time, not granting paid leave that their workers were entitled to and making unauthorised deductions.

Chinese company Shanghai Tunnel Engineering and its Singapore subsidiary Shanghai Tunnel Engineering (Singapore) each face 82 charges. Both are involved in several Land Transport Authority MRT projects.

The Ministry said that it will step up checks in the construction sector and warned firms to obey labour laws. "We will take action against companies that flout or disregard our employment laws," it said.

The MOM also urges workers to blow the whistle on errant firms by calling its confidential hotline on 64385122.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.