TR EMERITUS

(2 Jul 2014)     The government has barred two foreign placement agencies from recruiting Filipino workers for their alleged involvement in the peddling of household service workers (HSWs) displayed in malls in Singapore, an official said yesterday. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has suspended the accreditation of Singapore-based Housekeeper recruitment agency while a complaint has been filed against Budget Maid recruitment company, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said. “We have identified the two foreign recruitment agencies allegedly involved in the discounted maids issue and they are now barred from recruiting Filipino workers pending investigation,” she said. According to Baldoz, Housekeeper is a POEA-accredited foreign recruitment agency so the accreditation was immediately suspended while Budget Maid is not accredited with the Philippine government, thus a letter has been sent to Singapore’s ministry of manpower for appropriate investigation. Baldoz said the POEA has also summoned four local counterparts of Housekeeper for investigation: Migrant Workers Manpower Agency Inc., Kirsten Recruitment Inc., Uni-Link Overseas Placement Agency Corp. and Maanyag International Manpower Corp. According to Baldoz, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Singapore was able to visit five Filipino HSWs recruited by the two foreign agencies. “But we have yet to establish until this time if they were legally deployed or not and if they were indeed being offered like commodities by their foreign recruiters,” she said. There were reports that Bukit Timah Shopping Center in Central Singapore allegedly set up “galleries” in which foreign women workers, including Filipino HSWs, are being offered and advertised for hiring as domestic workers at “super promo” rates. “If the news report is true, we should really close those agencies involved. Their business may be legitimate, but how they conduct their business is degrading and even if Filipinos are foreigners they should not be treated inhumanely,” Baldoz said.   Source:  http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/07/01/14/2-firms-suspended-over-singapores-discount-maids    Read More →

Last Friday (27 Jun), TRE published an article highlighting that new residents moving into HDB BTO flats in Anchorvale Horizon at Seng Kang were complaining about the defects and poor workmanship found in their newly completed flats (‘Complaints against poor workmanship in new HDB flats‘). It was so bad that the grassroots leaders at Anchorvale Horizon were themselves complaining about the problem too. The grassroots leaders even roped in Seng Kang West MP Lam Pin Min to visit Anchorvale Horizon just to show him how terrible the defects are. As it turned out, the construction company responsible for the Anchorvale Horizon BTO project was China Jingye Engineering Corporation Limited. Today (5 Jul), the media reported that Jingye has been told to stop work and clean up its Choa Chu Kang Avenue 1 HDB construction site, another HDB project which it has been awarded. 35 of its workers are now down with dengue. Jingye has about 900 staff - most are construction workers. NEA said it will take the Jingye to court after an inspection of the site found four mosquito breeding areas. This is the 4th time the site has been found to be breeding mosquitoes. It has already paid fines of more than $10,000 in total for the 3 previous cases of mosquito breeding. In addition to pleading guilty, Jingye will be apologizing to residents in the area - 22 of whom have also fallen sick. NEA said it will check the seven construction sites in Choa Chu Kang every week. It is the neighbourhood with the most new dengue cases in the last fortnight. One resident blamed the construction sites. He said, "Before those came up, we never had so many people with dengue." Jingye is a Beijing-headquartered, wholly state-owned company of China. It is a subsidiary of Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd (MCC), which is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai [Link]. It was also found that in the various projects in Singapore, Jingye’s work-sites had been issued with Stop Work Orders (SWO) by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) [Link] 5 times since 2008: Mar 2013 Apr 2013 Jun 2011 Aug 2009 Nov 2008 An SWO is issued by MOM in instances where severe lapses in safety and health conditions cause immediate danger to the persons at work. Failure to comply with SWO is considered an offence [Link].    Read More →

Applications for AY2015 A*STAR India Youth Scholarship will be opened from 6 June 2014 (7.30am India Time) to 13 July 2014 (7.30pm India Time). Please submit your application via our online application system. If you encounter difficulties during your online application, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions or contact Customer Service Centre at +65 6872 2220. The A*STAR India Youth Scholarship is tenable for 4 years leading to the award of the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education ‘Advanced’ (GCE ‘A’) Level (or equivalent) certificate. The Scholarship is for studies in selected Singapore schools from Secondary Three to Pre-University Two and is renewed annually, subject to the satisfactory performance of the scholar. Eligibility Interested candidates who meet the following criteria are invited to apply for the scholarship: Nationals of India Born between 1998 and 2000 Completed Standard 8 in the Year 2014 Possess outstanding academic track record (at least an average of 80% / minimum ‘A’ with English as first language in the Standards 7 and 8 school final examinations) Possess a high level of oral and written competency in English Important Dates Any dates given below are tentative and are subject to changes. Activity Date Application Period 6 June to 13 July 2014 Selection Test End August to early September 2014 Selection Interview End October to early November 2014 Award of Scholarship Mid to late November 2014 Arrival of Scholar in Singapore Late December 2014 Candidates short-listed for the selection test/interview will be notified a week before the selection test/interview dates. We regret that only short-listed candidates will be notified. Test and Interview City Delhi Terms and Conditions Annual allowance of S$2,200 (Secondary) / S$2,400 (Pre-University) with hostel accommodation Settling-in allowance of S$400 (once only) Return economy class air passage Coverage of school fees (excluding miscellaneous fees) Coverage of GCE ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Level examination fees (once only, if applicable) Subsidised medical benefits and accident insurance cover Application Procedures Applicants are to apply online using the online application system. Each applicant should submit only ONE application only. If you encounter difficulties during your online application, you may contact Customer Service Centre at +65 6872 2220. Please follow the application steps: Step 1 1(a) Online application Please submit your application via our online application system. Step 2 All applicants are to send certified copies of the following items directly to the Singapore Ministry of Education. The documents should arrive before the closing date (13 July 2014): Birth Certificate; Identity Card / Passport (if any); and Final Examination Result Slips for the last two years (Standards 7 and 8 final examinations) A*STAR India Youth Scholarship / < Indicate online application number for online applicants> c/o School Placement & Scholarships Branch Ministry of Education 1 North Buona Vista Drive, Level 3 Podium Block Singapore 138675 Original documents that are not in English must be translated to English. The translated documents must be accompanied by a photocopy of the original documents. Please do not send in any original documents as they will not be returned. If you have applied online, please indicate your online application number on all supporting documents sent to us.   [Source]: http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/scholarships/astar/    Read More →