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SINGAPORE: Ground-handling company SATS said it is looking into allegations that a “service partner” docked S$5 (US$3.90) from a Changi Airport wheelchair assistant’s pay for being 11 seconds late for work.<\/p>\n
In response to CNA’s queries, SATS said on Friday (Aug 14) that it is aware and concerned by the allegations, and has sought clarification from its service partner, Aventa Services, on the matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAventa has informed us that it is responding directly to queries from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).<\/p>\n
\u201cSATS takes such matters seriously and expects all service partners to comply with applicable employment laws and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The matter came to light after Ms Juliet Low, CEO of maid database Maids Without Borders, detailed in a LinkedIn post a conversation she had with the elderly wheelchair service worker who was helping her husband after they returned to Singapore from Da Nang on Aug 7.<\/p>\n
Her husband was using a wheelchair as he was recovering from a fracture.<\/p>\n
During the conversation, the elderly man told her that he was upset because he had S$5 docked from his wages for being 11 seconds late for work.<\/p>\n
Ms Low told CNA that she asked to see his payslip, which he showed her on his phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis payslip literally wrote \u201811 seconds late\u2019,\u201d she said, further explaining that the payslip said \u201csomething to the extent of deduction and penalty\u201d.<\/p>\n
CNA has contacted the MOM and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) for more information.<\/p>\n
According to MOM’s website, employers may make salary deductions for an employee\u2019s absence from work. The authorised salary deductions are listed in the Employment Act.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The deduction cannot exceed the employee\u2019s salary for the period of absence. For example, if an employee is 30 minutes late, only 30 minutes\u2019 salary can be deducted.<\/p>\n
In this case, if 11 seconds were to equate to S$5, that would mean the worker was earning about S$1,636 every hour, or S$13,091 for an eight-hour day.<\/p>\n
MOM said on its website that employers should find out why an employee was late and should not “unfairly penalise” the employee if there was a valid reason. Employees should be responsible in coming to work on time and inform their employer as early as possible if they are unable to do so, the ministry added.<\/p>\n
The wheelchair assistant said that many of the other wheelchair service staff are elderly workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like increasingly we’re starting to see this culture of profit over people, and it doesn’t feel right when we’re bullying people who are already vulnerable,\u201d said Ms Low.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Ms Low posted about the incident on LinkedIn. As of Friday evening, the post had more than 100 comments and over 500 likes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you can see a lot of other people and their anger as well on the LinkedIn post, to say that this is absolutely deplorable,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I echo that myself because, to me, it is shameless that our society allows this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Demand for special assistance services is expected to grow as Singapore’s population ages and air travel increases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n