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Oral Answer by Minister of State Gan Siow Huang to PQ on reports received against employers that made CPF contributions to "phantom workers"

Employment practices

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1508 OF 2022 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 9 NOVEMBER 2022
QUESTION NO. 3781 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song

To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year from 2013 to 2022 (a) how many reports has the Ministry received against employers that made CPF contributions to “phantom workers”; (b) what are the (i) median (ii) lowest and (iii) highest administrative financial penalties imposed for such infringements; (c) what other penalties are imposed; (d) whether the Ministry plans to step up enforcement and increase penalties for such infringements; and (e) whether random spot checks are performed.

Answer

1. From 2015 to 2021, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) received about 660 reports per year on firms inflating their foreign worker quota by making CPF contributions to locals who are not working for the firm, otherwise known as phantom workers.

2. Administrative financial penalties were issued against about 11 employers per year over this period. The median penalty was $15,000 and the penalties ranged from $1,250 to $200,000. Other enforcement actions taken included issuing cautions, directions to rectify breaches, and debarment from hiring migrant workers.

3. MOM investigates all reports received and generates investigation leads through data analytics. We also conduct no-notice enforcement operations. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness our measures and review them where necessary.