Singapore's Inter-agency Taskforce has called on the United States to
improve the credibility of the United States’ Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
report, which saw the Republic ranking Tier 2 in its watch list.
The Taskforce met up with the US
Embassy in Singapore to share with them what it says are inaccuracies and
misrepresentations found in the TIP Report.
It told the US to improve its
credibility by "ensuring greater accuracy of facts and by making the
report's methodology more objective", as well as to take into account the
different legal structures and domestic context of countries ranked in the
report.
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Last month, the TIP report placed
Singapore in a Tier 2 position in its human trafficking watch list. This means
that while Singapore has made efforts to comply with minimum standards for
protecting victims of human trafficking, it has yet to meet those standards.
In a statement to the media
today, the Taskforce clarified a number of points regarding foreign workers'
employment rights, sex trafficking, prosecution procedures and difficulties
faced by foreign fishermen, which were mentioned in the US report.
Prosecution procedures for
victims
The TIP report had stated that
the Singapore government generally held the passports of trafficking victims
and declined their requests for repatriation.
In its clarification, the
Taskforce said that passports of material witnesses were held by the Government
and that the presence of witnesses in Singapore is necessary for the successful
prosecution of human trafficking offenders.
Therefore, they are requested to
remain in Singapore as prosecution witnesses and that the decision to remain is
theirs. The Government will facilitate the departure of those who do not wish
to stay on.
The TIP report also claimed that
the Government did not demonstrate increased efforts to apply stringent
penalties on convicted offenders, and traffickers were given low penalties
ranging from fines to nine months' imprisonment.
But the Taskforce clarified that
trafficking offences in Singapore carry penalties of up to 10 years and that
each trafficking case is assessed on its "unique merits" and
penalties are meted out accordingly.
Repatriation of foreign workers
The US report had stated that
employers' ability to repatriate foreign workers anytime during their contracts
while working here has fuelled fears of being 'deported'.
The Singapore Taskforce clarified
that employers are required to give their workers notice according to the
period stated in the contract or according to the Employment Act.
Alternatively, employers have to
pay workers a salary in lieu of notice and foreign employees can terminate
their contracts in the same manner.
The Taskforce also explained the
Work Pass Conditions in Singapore, where employers must ensure that all
outstanding salaries and money due to the foreign employees are paid before the
employee's repatriation and that failure to do so is a breach of the Employment
of Foreign Manpower Act.
It also said that foreign workers
have been educated on their employment rights and avenues to seek help, even
before they leave for Singapore.
According to the Taskforce, the
US Report had claimed that Singaporean employers can submit complaints about
worker behaviour to impose future employment bars on them. The Taskforce said
that this is untrue and that Singapore employers do not possess powers to place
such bars on foreign workers.
Instead, employment bars are
imposed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on foreign workers who have been
found to have infringed Singaporean laws and regulations.
The report also claimed that MOM
had failed to refer cases of human trafficking to the police for investigation
or prosecution.
The Taskforce clarified that MOM
conducts preliminary investigaions on employment agencies to assess if there
were elements of human trafficking and for 20 such cases, labour trafficking
were not established, hence they were not referred to the police for
following-up.
Dubious companies, not agencies
The TIP report had stated that
the Singapore Government had assessed "1,355 employment agencies" to
be dubious. However, the Taskforce said that this is factually inaccurate and
that the Government had identified 1,355 dubious Singaporean companies, not
employment agencies.
These companies were debarred
from hiring foreign workers.
Sex trafficking offenders
Four sex trafficking offenders
were allegedly convicted, according to the TIP report, but the Taskforce said
that this is also factually inaccurate, as there had been five cases prosecuted
with at least one accused convicted in 2011.
The Taskforce also highlighted
another factual error in the report which stated that three additional sex
trafficking cases were confirmed where no one was prosecuted. It said that this
is untrue and that at least one person in each of these cases were
"sternly warned", and the remaining accused persons were still under
investigation at that time.
The Taskforce said that these
information were previously conveyed to the US State Department.
Singapore has no jurisdiction
over foreign fishermen
Foreign fishermen face
significant difficulties when attempting to seek redress for their problems,
such as unpaid wages and wage deductions, which contribute to their
vulnerability to trafficking, said the TIP report from the US.
Singapore's Taskforce said that
while they share similar concerns about their work conditions, Singapore does
not have jurisdiction over foreign fishermen working in off-shore waters on
non-Singapore flags.
It said that the government works
with port authorities, unions, seafarer missions and civil society
organisations to improve reporting methods, on-shore amenities and delivery of
humanitarian assistance for fishermen in need.
It has visited Singapore's sea
ports to study ways to improve the assistance channels for fishermen in
distress, said the Taskforce.
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