TWC2 pushes mandatory coverage after 400 workers left unpaid for months
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is investigating three linked firms after roughly 400 migrant workers reported months of unpaid wages, a case that has prompted labor advocates to push for mandatory wage-protection insurance.
The companies – KPA Engineering, SK Industries and VVR Plant Engineering—share a registered office and a common director.
Case escalated within days
More than 100 workers first gathered at MOM's Bendemeer services centre on June 22, after discovering KPA Engineering's office had been vacated since September 2025, according to The Online Citizen. The number of affected workers grew to roughly 400 within two days.
Ng Hwei Min, general manager of the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), said TADM and MOM were reaching out to the employers and "allowing the workers to change their employer, so that they can seek new employment, should they want to, while we address their situation." She added that MOM "will take the necessary and appropriate enforcement action against the companies should they be found to have breached any of the employment laws."
Corporate records show the companies' director, Ramu Palani Velu, a Singapore permanent resident, registered three additional firms on a single day in 2025 and acquired a fourth in November of that year, expanding a network now spanning seven entities. National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said the directors linked to KPA Engineering and SK Industries "may not be in the country." The Straits Times reported that a visit to the director's listed residential address in Hillview found the unit had been rented to a doctor for roughly two years.
Advocates flagged pattern earlier
Migrant worker group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) said it had identified warning signs before the case became public. TWC2 vice president Alex Au said six workers from KPA Engineering had approached the organisation earlier, alleging unpaid salaries, and that TWC2 helped them file formal claims through the Employment Claims Tribunal.
Au described the pattern as an early indicator of systemic wage issues at the company. TWC2 told Rice Media its hotline logged more than 2,500 salary-related enquiries last year, with roughly 1,000 formally registered for assistance, and said recruitment fees can reach S$20,000 per worker, leaving many reluctant to report unpaid wages until conditions become severe.
The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics called for earlier regulatory intervention, saying repeated late payments beyond a single salary cycle should trigger mandatory scrutiny, with employers required to produce payroll records and explain delays.
Relief underway, reform proposed
NTUC’s Migrant Workers' Centre said it has engaged more than 300 affected workers and identified about 150 vacancies across 40 firms willing to hire them. Each worker is receiving S$100 in cash and S$100 in FairPrice vouchers, and those whose dormitory leases have lapsed are being moved to MOM's Onboard Centre in Sengkang. Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash said the assistance was intended to let workers make phone calls home, adding, "Some of them really don't have much money in their pockets."
Au argued Singapore should adopt a mandatory wage insurance scheme requiring employers to purchase coverage guaranteeing salary payment in the event of default, with disputes resolved through the Employment Claims Tribunal. He said reliance on charitable support for affected workers was not sustainable.
