SINGAPORE: A Singaporean part-time worker recently took to social media to expose his work contract’s unfair pay and hidden terms.
Posting on r/askSingapore on Friday (Aug 9), he shared that when he inquired about the terms before accepting the job, all his employer bothered to disclose was that he would be paid a mere $8 per hour for a night shift running from 5 pm to 8:30 am.
However, after completing his first shift, he was shocked to learn from another part-timer that during rest periods, he would only be paid 10% of his hourly wage, which amounts to just $0.80 per hour from 10 pm to 7 am.
“My friend has complaint about the $0.80 for night shift pay, and they just said since we are sleeping and not doing anything, that’s why our pay is like that,” he wrote.
“But we are also staying there overnight in their premises? We are still responsible if anything happens. For it to be $0.80 seems to be really ridiculous,” he added.
He also discovered that his pay was lower than others, including a friend who started at the same time. “My pay is less than everyone else’s… Everyone is getting $9 per hour while I am getting $8,” he said.
To make matters worse, he found out that even though he was working on a public holiday, his pay for the overnight shift would only be $9—essentially the same rate others were receiving on regular days.
“I haven’t questioned my boss about why my pay is lower, but I’m just planning on leaving so I don’t have to go through this… I wanted to file a complaint to MOM but I couldn’t find the form that fit my issue.
I don’t know whether I’m overreacting or that my work is really just…bad,” he lamented.
“$0.80. That’s not even enough for me to take the bus to work one way.”
In the comments section, many users strongly advised the part-timer to leave his job, pointing out that $8 per hour—let alone the absurd $0.80 during rest periods—is far too low, even for part-time work.
They argued that his time and effort were worth much more and that he shouldn’t settle for such unfair compensation.
One netizen said, “Eh semo $0.80. That’s not even enough for me to take the bus to work one way. If they want to pay, they have to just pay the hourly rate normally; if they see it as a downtime, then don’t even schedule people for downtime.
But yes, in 2024, it should be $10/h; even Tori-Q (who admittedly must handle food, which is why paying better) is $12 weekday and $14ish weekend.”
Another user echoed this sentiment: “Please don’t settle for $8. These companies think they can get away with less when you accept the low pay. Not saying it is your fault, but you deserve more than $8 and certainly more than whatever this company is doing.”
A third user, who happens to be an entrepreneur, said, “My company pays foreign workers 17 an hour doing packing and you are getting 8… Regardless, part-time or not.”
Meanwhile, others were quick to suggest that the part-timer name and shame the company to make sure they stop exploiting workers. One netizen said, “Name the company. Find out who the boss is, boycott the company.”
Another recommended, “Please report them to MOM. And keep all exchanges as evidence.”
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