Firm lied it interviewed Singaporeans so that it could hire foreigner
A logistics company that wanted to hire a Chinese national as a manager lied that it had considered other applicants, including Singaporeans, for the position.
But Ti2 Logistics had already pre-selected the foreigner and offered him the job, and did not conduct interviews with other applicants.
Yesterday, Francis Chiang Tin Yui, 37, a Singaporean who was the sole director of the company, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
The company was fined $18,000 by the court and barred by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) from hiring foreigners for two years.
The work pass of the Chinese national, Zhou Jianxin, has also been revoked.
Chiang became acquainted with Zhou early last year.
As Chiang wanted to expand the company's business to China, he decided to hire Zhou as a business development manager and planned to later post him to China to run operations there.
As Zhou needed a work pass to be employed here, the company applied for an Employment Pass for him on June 26 last year.
But MOM rejected the application as the company failed to comply with the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), which requires companies to advertise a job position on Jobs Bank before it can apply for an Employment Pass for that position.
PAPER EXERCISE
Ti2 Logistics tried to circumvent this by posting an advertisement on the portal on July 10 last year as a paper exercise. At least 22 local candidates responded.
But the company, having already selected Zhou prior to the posting, did not review or consider any of these applicants.
On July 26 last year, it again applied for an Employment Pass for Zhou, lying it had interviewed two Singaporeans and one foreigner for the position.
Yesterday, Chiang admitted he did not interview or consider any Singaporeans, and he was not even aware of the number of applicants who applied for the job through the ad.
In a statement yesterday, Ms Christine Loh, the director of employment standards enforcement from MOM's labour relations and workplaces division, said the ministry does not tolerate any form of workplace discrimination.
"It is unacceptable for employers to treat the job advertising requirement under the FCF as a paper exercise," she said.
"We will continue to be vigilant on discriminatory employers and take stern action against those who try to circumvent our fair hiring requirements."
Employers who fail to make accurate and truthful declarations in their work pass applications can be fined for up to $20,000, or jailed for up to two years, or both.
Members of the public who have information of employers with discriminatory hiring or workplace practices should report the matter to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices at www.tal.sg/tafep/contact-us
All information will be kept strictly confidential.
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