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Forklift operators in S’pore charged for bribery!!! On Dec. 11, two forklift operators in Singapore were charged for allegedly receiving small value bribes from truck drivers. The forklift operators, Chen Ziliang and Zhao Yucun, are Chinese nationals employed by Cogent Container Depot Pte Ltd. According to a press release by the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau (CPIB), both of them allegedly obtained bribes in exchange for not delaying the collection of containers. Chen was charged for attempting to obtain a S$1 bribe from a truck driver on Oct. 20, 2017, as well as receiving bribes from other truck drivers between May 2016 and March 2018. Chen’s counterpart, Zhao, was charged for obtaining similar bribes from truck drivers between September 2014 and March 2018. A Straits Times report mentioned that both Chinese nationals were each offered bail of S$5,000 and will be back in court on Jan. 9 next year. “Zero-tolerance approach” to corruptionThe total amount received from bribes was not stated by CPIB. However, CPIB emphasised that Singapore adopts a “zero-tolerance approach” towards corruption, and “bribes of any amount or kind will not be tolerated”: “Employees are expected to carry out their duties fairly instead of obtaining bribes in exchange for favours. Even if the bribe amount is as low as $1, they can be taken to task. Bribes of any amount or any kind will not be tolerated.” Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, any person who is convicted of a corruption offence can be fined up to S$100,000 or sentenced to imprisonment of up to five years or to both.

I guess if your philosophy is you only need to have a small place to have sex and live... this isn't too bad. 😑 https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/workers-at-jurong-dorm-allege-neglect-frustrated-with-lack-of-medical-care-for Workers at Jurong dorm allege neglect, frustrated with lack of medical care for Covid-19 1 of 2 Workers at the Westlite Jalan Tukang dorm said they were not given proper access to medical support or properly isolated after they tested positive for Covid-19. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO David Sun and Dominic Low PUBLISHED OCT 14, 2021, 6:50 PM SGT FACEBOOKWHATSAPP SINGAPORE - A scene of chaos and neglect has emerged at a newly built foreign worker dormitory in Jurong, with residents alleging poor living conditions and a lack of timely access to medical help for Covid-19. Photos and videos of workers at the Westlite Jalan Tukang dorm voicing their frustrations with how they are being treated have been uploaded on multiple online platforms since Tuesday (Oct 12). Workers there said they were not given proper access to medical support, and were not properly isolated. About a quarter of the 2,000 workers staying in the dorm have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19, workers told a Wechat-based news portal. But Sembcorp Marine, which employs a large number of the workers, and the dorm’s operator Westlite Accomodation said on Thursday (Oct 14) that the dorm has been observing Covid-19 health testing and movement protocols. The situation reached a tipping point on Wednesday (Oct 13), when residents gathered en masse to confront the dormitory's management. Armoured riot police were later called in. Photos that have surfaced online showed workers believed to have Covid-19 infection sleeping at the corridors and walkways outside the dorm rooms. They alleged that they did so to prevent their roommates from catching the virus from them, as no one came to isolate them while they awaited medical care. A dorm resident, believed to have tested positive for Covid-19, sleeping outside his room as a form of self-isolation. PHOTO: RESIDENT OF WESTLITE JALAN TUKANG DORMITORY A resident who wanted to be known only as Mr Ren, 41, told The Straits Times that residents have been frustrated with the lack of medical assistance. "(The dormitory management) does not care about those who are sick - these men had been sick for about seven or eight days," he said. "Their fever had gotten very high, and we had to make noise about it before anything was done." Westlite Jalan Tukang residents believed to be Covid-19 positive in their beds He added that the situation escalated on Wednesday, when the residents confronted the management as a group. Although there were raised voices, the workers did not resort to violence, he said. The police were called in at about 1pm, and deployed at least four vehicles from the Special Operations Command. Armoured police officers and vehicles were also seen at the dormitory. One video showed the workers shouting as riot police formed up just outside the dorm entrance. ST understands that the dorm residents are of different nationalities, but had banded together to voice their frustrations. Aside from a lack of timely medical support, they also claimed poor living conditions, and that they were given food that had worms or had gone bad. Some of the workers had threatened to quit and return to their homelands because they were frustrated with how they were being treated. Residents of Westlite Jalan Tukang gathering Mr Ren said he has since resigned and just wants to go home. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Wednesday that it was aware of allegations of a breach of healthcare protocols, lack of access to medical support, and poor quality of food at the dorm. Its preliminary investigations found that there were indeed delays in transferring workers who tested positive for Covid-19 to the appropriate facilities. "We are working on transferring those who required further medical care to the appropriate healthcare facilities for treatment," said an MOM spokesman. Westlite Jalan Tukang resident being taken away by ambulance However, a spokesman for Sembcorp Marine claimed its employees living at the dorm may not have been fully aware of the current protocols. About 1,400 of the 3,420 beds at the dorm are occupied by workers from Sembcorp Marine, according to Westlite Accommodation, which is under the Centurion group. “The company understands that Westlite is following the mandatory Covid-19 health testing and movement protocols and they have been working closely with the relevant authorities,” said the Sembcorp Marine spokesman. “The company is mindful that the current protocols in Singapore may not be apparent to the residents in the Tukang dorm, and may differ from Covid-19 management measures from their home country.” A police car at the Westlite Jalan Tukang dormitory on Oct 14, 2021. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO Sembcorp Marine also said it had issued reminders to its caterer to strictly adhere to hygiene standards. The company did not address the issues raised by the workers, such as why they were not isolated and taken to the relevant facilities immediately upon testing positive, as is the stated protocol. Westlite Accomodation also said that prevailing Covid-19 protocols have been followed at its Jalan Tukang dorm, but acknowledged delays in moving affected workers to the appropriate facilities. “Over the past week, there has been a spike in cases detected among Sembcorp Marine workers,” it said. “Due to the large numbers, there have been delays in conveyance to recovery facilities and healthcare facilities.” Westlite added that it has been working closely with MOM to deal with the issue. ST has contacted MOM for further comment.

http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/03/08/mp-png-discrimination-against-hiring-of-sg-crane-operators/ MP Png: Discrimination against hiring of SG crane operators March 8th, 2014 | Author: Editorial Hougang MP Png Eng Huat Last year, the National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan made a call to recruit more local crane operators in the construction sector. It was reported that only half of the 3,600 crane operators here are Singaporeans. Mr Khaw then said that as a crane operator, one can earn good salary of between $4,000 to $7,000 a month with overtime pay and allowance. Yesterday (7 Mar) in Parliament, WP MP for Hougang, Mr Png Eng Huat, told the House a very different story with regard to the employment situation for Singaporean crane operators. Mr Png revealed that a Singaporean tower crane operator came to see him recently at his MPS. The crane operator said that many companies in the construction sector are still hiring “more foreign crane operators not less”. “These foreign workers are cheaper and can work longer hours. As a result, salaries came down and many of his operator friends are unable to secure full time work. Some of his friends work only 2 times a week. He handed me a letter with the names of 46 tower crane operators pleading for help,” Mr Png said. “Last night, I met a fellow diner at the hawker centre near my house and I found out he is also a crane operator. He added that foreign construction companies tend to hire their own people to operate cranes. He also felt that the number of foreign crane operators has not come down despite the move to train more local crane operators.” Singaporeans being discriminated by foreign companies or foreign hiring managers is not new. According to a survey conducted by recruitment firm eFinancialCareers in October last year, large number of companies in the finance industry are actually discriminating against Singaporean hires. According to the survey, a majority or 52% of the respondents said their companies had favoured foreigners for some job openings (‘Survey confirms rampant job discrimination against SGs‘). In fact, the situation was so bad that 2 Cabinet Ministers had to have a “friendly talk” with senior members of the financial industry on this matter. Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin told Parliament in March last year that he and Finance Minister Tharman had met senior members of the financial industry to urge them to develop a local talent pipeline. Mr Tan said, without going into specifics, that there had been complaints of foreign managers preferring to hire their own countrymen and his ministry was investigating the matter. And from Mr Png’s accounts, it looks like such discriminatory practices have spread to crane operators as well. Mr Png also revealed that the reason for the increase in hiring of foreign crane operators is due to the government’s relaxation of foreign quota. He said, “The reliance on foreign crane operators will never come down despite the call to train and hire more Singaporeans. This is because BCA has launched a temporary initiative to relax the recruitment of foreign crane operators at the same time when it launched an initiative to attract more Singaporeans to join the trade.” Under the relaxed ruling, Mr Png revealed that for every 1 new local crane operator hired and trained, a company can now recruit up to 4 new foreign crane operators. “This will probably explain why people are seeing more foreign crane operators and not less,” he said. Mr Png added, “Putting the 2 initiatives side by side, the percentage of Singaporean crane operators in the construction sector will come down significantly over time. So the call to reduce reliance on foreign crane operators will not happen any time soon.” “I would like to ask the Minister when we can see an improvement in this sector,” he asked Minister Khaw. Mr Png also mentioned that LTA and HDB often require tower crane operators to have at least 5 years of experience to improve safety. “So, the idea of hiring and training new local crane operators is not going to make sense for companies bidding for major public projects,” he said. “Some have called for the 5-year experience requirement to be reviewed and replaced with the number of hours an operator clocked at work as a better gauge of safety regulation. This idea is worth exploring because an experience pilot is known for the number of flying hours he clocked and not by how long he had his licence,” Mr Png proposed. Mr Png urged the government to look into the matter so that more local tower crane operators can qualify to work on major projects sooner rather than later. He also urged Minister Khaw to look into helping local crane operators find their footing in the industry and if necessary, set in place rules to protect them so that they can have job security. “It does not make sense for the Government to encourage more locals to become crane operators but there are few jobs for them at the end of the day,” Mr Png concluded in his Parliamentary speech.

How to fit 266 people in one carriage

look at what this crybaby is saying... surely one of the worst reasons given for transport fare hikes the transport companies are acting like any other profit-oriented companies where high management receive huge bonuses every year while ordinary workers get pathetic increment or even pay freezes i'm really disgusted by them

http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story...817-232398.html helo....minister....dun give me that kind of crap loh....purchase energy-efficient/environmental friendly bus/train, employ FT to drive buses, deploy driverless trains, all these should reduce operators operating costs otherwise what for spend money for all these. No company in the right frame of mind will want to spend money to increase operating cost.

Hi, For those who are driving P/T or have immediate families in this vocation, which of the operators would you recommend a NOOB to join to get a vocational licence. Thank you for your views and advice. Any elaboration would be greatly appreciated.

Do we believe that by introducing more bus operators will improve bus service? How is more operators going to cooperate where we can't even make 2 companies to do so? Regulators are govt, all rules are set by them. Small operators is not possible,if they pass some legistration and small companies can't comply,game over for them. Any suggestions?

AFX News Limited ExxonMobil Malaysia units sued by service station associations - report 06.06.07, 9:25 PM ET KUALA LUMPUR (XFN-ASIA) - Associations representing some 440 Malaysian service station operators are suing ExxonMobil units Esso Malaysia Bhd and ExxonMobil Malaysia Sdn Bhd, claiming that they were forced to sign a new licensing agreement, the New Straits Times reported. Mobil Petrol Station Dealers Association of Malaysia president Zulkifli Mokti was quoted as saying the service station operators are seeking compensation of 44 mln rgt, alleging 'harassment' and 'mental anguish.' The associations are also seeking 1 mln rgt fro every service station that was forced to close as a result of the new agreement. The new agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, is currently subject to a court injunction. (1 usd = 3.40 rgt) http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2...afx3796467.html