Migrant workers in Singapore face unpaid wages

SINGAPORE- Kandha Samy Ragupathy was 23 when he left his village in India to give his family a better future.

He was a farmer, married with a young wife and filled with hopes of carving out a better life for his family.

He saved every rupee he earned and flew to Singapore for a job he had secured through a friend.

He did not have to pay the agent fee. Back then, it was around $10,000, but now it has shot up to around $13,000.

He worked in many sectors over the past 27 years, before moving some eight months ago to KPA Engineering – one of three firms in Singapore caught up in claims of worker abandonment.

Kandha, now 50, was one of three migrant workers The Straits Times spoke to. They are among 400 migrant workers affected by months of unpaid wages.

The workers were employed by one of three companies – VVR Plant Engineering, SK Industries and KPA Engineering – which shared the same director, Indian national Ramu Palani Velu. He is assisting the Ministry of Manpower with its investigations.

Kandha earned $1,600 a month, and sent home $1,000. But in the last three months, he said, he has not been paid.

“I came here for my daughters. I sent money to them. Now they send money to help me,” he said.

His eldest is now 24 and has a four-year-old daughter of her own. Beaming, Kandha showed ST a photograph of his granddaughter he keeps on his phone.

His youngest, 20, is still in school.

Being separated from his family has been hard. His wife died some years back, he said, without giving details.

Rolling up his sleeve, he pointed to a tattoo etched on his arm – a portrait of his late wife. “I am always thinking of her,” he said.

The workers have filed their wage claims with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. Among them is Islam Md Rafiul.

He paid an agent $13,000 to secure a job in Singapore, and arrived six months ago for a role at VVR.

The Bangladeshi national, the oldest of three children, was paid a monthly salary of between $800 and $850. He initially sent home $500 to $600 a month, but has gone three months without wages.

The money the 20-year-old sent home supported not only his parents, but also his grandparents, his four-year-old brother and his sister, six.

His father is now the sole breadwinner of the family.

“It is a critical situation for us, for everyone,” he said, adding that many of his friends are taking loans to make ends meet.

Islam said he has decided against telling his family about his situation. “I cannot tell them. If I tell them they will be very scared.”

Like Islam, Hussain Md Sabbir moved from Bangladesh to Singapore after paying $13,000 in agent fees.

The 20-year-old quit school – he was pursuing a Bachelor in Business Administration – to take up what he believed would be a good job.

“My father told me to work in Bangladesh. I said no, I want to go to Singapore,” he said.

He left his village two months ago for a role at VVR Plant Engineering, his first job. He did not receive any income from the start.

Hussain said that as the only son in his family, he is expected to support his parents and sister. After he arrived in Singapore, he borrowed $114 from friends back home to provide his family with some money.

His father, who runs a small business, is now the sole breadwinner.

“I know my family is very sad. I am also very sad, but what can I do?”

He added: “I worked 15 hours (a day). I slept only four hours. I thought because it is a hard job, they will give a better salary. But I was never paid.”

Several organisations including the National Trades Union Congress and the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) have been assisting the workers.

On June 30, dozens of migrant workers from KPA Engineering were taken to Sembawang Recreation Centre for a job screening programme.

Affected workers who are MWC members received $100 in cash and $100 in FairPrice vouchers.

Associate membership, which costs $24 a year, provides benefits including protection against critical illnesses, death and accidental total and permanent disability.

More than 80 firms are supporting the job-seeking process.

One of the employers told ST that he interviewed seven workers from KPA Engineering.

“I knew they were having a tough time and I wanted to help,” he said.

The Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants & Itinerant People (ACMI), which serves and helps migrants, has also stepped in to support the affected workers.

The Catholic non-profit social service organisation is providing some of the workers with financial assistance through parish fund-raisers. Singaporean families are also meeting the affected workers via ACMI.

Members of the public have also launched online fund-raising efforts.

The workers did not expect much on June 22 when more than 100 of them gathered outside the Ministry of Manpower claiming they had not been paid by their employers.

Jayasankar Vinothkumar said he appreciates the fact that so many people are trying to help. The 41-year-old supports his wife and two children – an eight-year-old daughter and a four-month-old son.

He is owed three months of wages. To make ends meet, his wife has been borrowing from relatives and friends.

The debts have piled up. He now owes friends and relatives about $20,000. His family had to borrow $5,000 to pay for his sister’s wedding recently.

“My wife also sold her jewellery,” said Jayasankar, who left India in 2012 to work in Singapore.

He said there had been issues with payments from KPA Engineering since he joined in August 2025. But he was persuaded to stay on, and told that things would improve. They never did.

He borrows from friends every time he needs money now.

“I just borrow $5 to $10 each time,” he said, adding that he hopes to secure a job soon, so he can deliver on the promise of a better life for his family.