SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): More than 100 migrant workers, primarily from India and Bangladesh, turned up at a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) office on June 22 over claims that they are owed wages by a company that has since been shuttered.
Several workers told The Straits Times they are employed by KPA Engineering, a company that provides air-conditioner maintenance services.
One worker from India, who gave his name only as Sampath, said several workers have not been paid for two months, despite raising the issue with the company and their bosses.
“But then we heard the company closed its business. We are worried because we haven’t been paid for some time.
“We didn’t know who else to turn to,” he said.
The migrant workers had turned up at the MOM Services Centre in Bendemeer at 9am. The centre provides services that include registration for work permits.
The workers were met by officials from the ministry and escorted into the building after being identified as employees of KPA Engineering.
ST counted at least 100 workers entering the building this way.
After the meeting, MOM told the media that it will investigate the claims.
The ministry said the workers were employed by either KPA Engineering or SK Industries.
A spokeswoman said the ministry is looking into the workers’ complaints regarding unpaid wages and other issues including housing arrangements.
She added that MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management are assisting the workers and reaching out to the employers.
The alliance provides employees and employers with services to resolve employment disputes.
The MOM spokeswoman said: “We are also working very closely with the Migrant Workers’ Centre to ensure that they have access to appropriate housing and meals.
“We are also allowing the workers to change their employer, so that they can seek new employment, should they want to, while we address their situation.
“MOM is also investigating two companies for possible breaches and will take action if necessary.”
Four employees of KPA Engineering, who declined to be identified, told ST that they were recruited by an Indian national to conduct electrical and air-con-related works for the company.
The workers said that they have not been paid for at least two months, and added that they have been unable to contact the recruiting agent.
The workers said that they found out about four days ago that the company had shuttered. When they visited the office, they found the doors locked.
One worker said he earned about $600 a month and was owed $1,400 in unpaid wages. Another said he was owed $4,000.
Rajenderan Berthap, 36, who works as an air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation technician at KPA Engineering, spoke to ST after leaving the MOM building at 11.30am.
He said he had relayed his salary situation to MOM officials, who said they will look into the matter.
Both Sampath and Rajenderan told ST that they were hoping to resolve the unpaid salary issue with MOM.
ST visited 42 Tagore Lane, the address listed online for KPA Engineering, and found CHL Construction occupying the unit.
An employee of CHL Construction said the firm moved into the premises in September 2025, after KPA Engineering vacated the unit.
“There were other people who came here looking for KPA Engineering, but I told them that company is no longer here,” he said, adding that the construction firm is not linked to the air-con services company.
According to business records, KPA Engineering has two directors. Both are foreigners with registered addresses in Hillview.
One of them, a Singapore permanent resident, is a director of six other companies involved in engineering, plumbing and air-conditioning works.
Six of the companies, including KPA Engineering and SK Industries, are registered to a unit at the Westech building in Pandan Loop.
Further checks showed that the permanent resident was formerly the director of KPA Minimart in Changi and KPA Services in Pandan Loop.
Checks by ST showed that the unit at Westech building is occupied by a business with no links to the directors of KPA Engineering.
When ST visited the unit, no one answered the door. An employee at the adjacent unit said he had seen workers there in the past month, but noticed none on June 22. -- The Straits Times/ANN
