I had a good career in Bangladesh, I was a production engineer in a garment factory earning approximately $400 every month with bonuses during Eid and yearly increases. I planned everything there; the number of machines, materials and manpower that would go into the manufacturing of a jacket or a pair of jeans.
I had agreed to pay $10,000 SGD to come to Singapore to work because I was promised a supervisory job with a salary of $2500. I thought I could repay the debt quickly and start earning for my family. But when I arrived in Singapore, I was asked to perform a job as a general worker with a pay of $1200.
I even painted the new MOM building in Bendemeer. I didn’t mind doing the job even though it paid less as I thought about my elder parents, 2 sisters and my brother who I have to support. My boss didn’t even pay me my overtime wages.
I couldn’t take it anymore when my boss started pressuring me to sign 18 pieces of blank salary vouchers and a document which required me to declare that I was receiving $2500 as my basic salary. When I refused to sign it, he forced me to open a bank account but took my ATM card and forced me to give him my password. This was so that he could bank in my rightful salary into my account and then withdraw it later to create the impression that he had paid me my rightful salary.
Not only did he want to cheat me, he wanted me to lie and to say that I was not cheated. That was the reason I reported my case to MOM. My investigations have taken almost a year. Now, MOM has charged and fined my employer but have told me that they can’t help me in my job search.
I am in this situation because I chose not to lie about my salary. I have now been given the chance to find a new job. But it is so hard to find a job in Singapore. If you have a job for me please contact HOME Singapore.
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This article was republished from Facebook of HOME’s Executive Director, Jolovan Wham. The name of the foreign worker is not mentioned.