SINGAPORE — Singapore is stepping up efforts to encourage migrant workers to report workplace concerns by expanding the use of volunteer networks, mobile applications and recreational centres as channels for them to seek help.

Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash said migrant workers are being trained under the Friends of ACE (FACE) volunteer programme to help fellow workers raise issues, including salary claims, as reported by The Straits Times.

FACE is part of the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) initiative, which works with employers, dormitory operators and non-governmental organisations to support migrant workers.

From April 1, FACE volunteers officially became part of the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) Ambassador Network.

Speaking on The Straits Times’ In Your Opinion podcast, first posted on Aug 12, Dinesh said some migrant workers may be reluctant to use formal channels because they fear jeopardising their employment.

“I don’t think they aren’t aware of the channels that are available. But they may choose not to indicate through the formal channels or somewhat informal channels.

“We have to pay particular attention to make sure that their voices are heard,” he said.

MWC currently manages around 2,000 volunteers from different nationalities who live in large and medium-sized dormitories, as well as public and private housing.

Around 1,000 volunteers were previously reported to be able to reach more than three-quarters of migrant workers living in dormitories.

Singapore has more than 1,500 worker dormitories housing over 300,000 migrant workers.

Dinesh said some vulnerable workers may also struggle to explain the problems they are facing or identify the type of assistance they require.

“There is a tendency for migrant workers to just suffer in silence and that is exactly what we are hoping to try to unpack with the various channels that we have,” he said.

Among the channels being promoted is the FWMOMCare mobile application, which allows migrant workers to manage their well-being, access medical care, seek assistance from officials and book recreational facilities.

MOM is also looking to use Singapore’s eight recreational centres as “non-work environment” and “safe space” where migrant workers can raise concerns.

The push comes after more than 400 migrant workers came forward in June with issues including unpaid wages involving KPA Engineering, SK Industries and VVR Plant Engineering. The three firms were operated by the same business owner.

In a written parliamentary reply in July, then Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said five workers from air-conditioning contractor KPA Engineering had separately approached the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) over unpaid salaries at different points in 2025.

Their cases were resolved within a week, with the workers receiving payment from the employer.

Tan also said four other workers from the company had lodged claims that were still being processed before the larger group approached MOM on June 22.

Dinesh said the ministry could have addressed the workers’ concerns more quickly had they been raised earlier, although he described the eventual outcome as “relatively good”.

The MWC, which is supported by the National Trades Union Congress, helped affected workers look for new jobs and provided $200 in financial assistance to its members.

As at August 3, MOM had rehoused 361 affected workers who required alternative accommodation at the Onboard Centre. Another 392 workers who decided to remain in Singapore had found new employment with about 135 companies.

The company’s director, Indian national and Singapore permanent resident Ramu Palani Velu, who has since been declared bankrupt, is being investigated by MOM.

Dr Stephanie Chok, executive director of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said migrant workers’ reluctance to report salary problems was consistent with her organisation’s casework experience.

She said workers often feared losing their jobs and being repatriated, with those concerns becoming more serious when they had yet to recover recruitment costs that could reach $12,000.

“Early reporting will become more realistic only when workers can change employers without requiring their employer’s consent, have access to reliable job matching, are protected against retaliatory feedback and immediate repatriation, and can lift the burden of incurring further recruitment debt,” she said.

Dinesh said the episode had highlighted three areas for improvement.

First, migrant workers needed to advocate for themselves. Employers, meanwhile, had to comply with the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Third, he said MOM would need to “tighten up areas that may have certain deficiencies” identified after investigations, including action against companies using phantom workers.

Singapore regulates the number of foreign workers a company can employ through the dependency ratio ceiling (DRC), which links foreign worker quotas to the number of local employees.

Dinesh said there had been cases where companies hired “phantom local workers” to artificially increase their foreign worker quota.

“The (DRC) is there for the purpose of making sure that you get a fair share of Singaporeans and migrant workers, and it cannot be migrant workers for migrant workers’ sake.

“It has to be in support of Singaporeans,” he said.

At the same time, he said the government also needed to consider employers’ ability to remain financially sustainable.

He pointed to the local qualifying salary, which sets the minimum salary for local employees in companies employing foreign workers. The minimum was raised from $1,600 to $1,800 in July.

“Given the business outlook, we have to be cautious about imposing too much on our employers as well,” Dinesh said.

He added that when businesses could no longer sustain their operations, migrant workers would also lose their jobs.

“We try not to create a situation where one party benefits at the expense of another party.

“It’s always about trying to reach a comfortable equilibrium across government, across the unions, and across employers,” he added.