Every day, we work hard and some of our salary goes into a compulsory retirement fund so that we can have some money when we grow old. For this 64-year-old Singaporean, he worked hard for 15 years but his unscrupulous employers cheated him of his rightful benefits.
For illustration purposes only | Source: The New Paper
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Lee worked as a delivery driver for two logistics companies since 2000, with 11 years at one company and 4 years at another one. However, during those 15 years, he was treated as a contract worker, hence he was not entitled to the usual benefits such as annual leaves and sick leaves.
The employers also refused to pay for his Central Provident Fund (CPF), which is similar to our Employee Provident Fund (EPF). Apparently they tried to exploit Lee by saying that he provided contract for services instead of a “contract of service”. It sounds the same but it is super different!
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
He was treated as a contractor who provided services for the clients instead of a regular employee, so the Employment Act allegedly did not cover him. Unfortunately, Lee was injured while working and he learnt from his friends that what his employers did was actually in violation of the law.
His friends urged him to lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) but Lee was still skeptical about the issue. He decided to contact MOM and ask them for clarification. Luckily he did, because through MOM, they managed to get Lee’s employers to cough up SGD$130,000 (approx. RM390,000) of CPF money from them.
For illustration purposes only | Source: The New Paper
He said, “I am very grateful to MOM for helping me with my case. They said that I am an employee and not a contract worker as my previous employers said. The companies I worked with provided me with the transportation and uniform that I would wear, which means I am their direct employee.”
Therefore, he urges any employee who feels like they’re being treated unfairly by their bosses to seek for help from the ministry.
Know your rights and don’t be exploited!
Also read: Man Works 12 Hrs Daily for 7 Years with Unpaid OT, Sues Boss and Wins RM450,000
