Forum: MOM takes firm stance against misuse of Training Employment Pass
The Training Employment Pass (TEP) allows employers to provide opportunities for foreign students and intra-corporate trainees to undergo practical training in Singapore for up to three months and is not renewable.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has been monitoring TEP numbers. MOM has mounted several proactive operations to detect abuse of the TEP scheme. Arising from these operations, about 70 companies are now being investigated for offences such as making false declarations in work pass applications.
Making false declarations is a serious offence. If convicted, an offender can be fined up to $20,000, or jailed for up to two years, or both. Errant employers will also have their work pass privileges suspended.
MOM has established that some workers were misled by employers or agents who falsely promised that the TEP could be renewed or extended beyond the three-month validity period. In some cases, workers were told that the declared salary and work duration in their In-Principle Approval (IPA) letters were merely to comply with MOM regulations, and that private arrangements such as lower salaries or longer employment periods could be done. Such practices are a serious breach of MOM regulations and amount to circumventing work pass conditions.
Workers are reminded to review their IPA letters carefully, which clearly state their salary, occupation, and the period of employment which the TEP is granted for. Affected workers may reach out to MOM for assistance.
Adrian Quek
Divisional Director
Foreign Manpower Management Division
Ministry of Manpower
More on this Topic Forum: What readers are saying
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Brazil government challenges Congress' reversal of tax hike, escalating tensions
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walks on stage after giving a speech during the Blue Economy and Finance Forum (BEFF) at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/Pool/ File Photo BRASILIA - Brazil's government filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging Congress' decision to overturn a tax hike on financial transactions, heating up tensions between the branches of power as the administration seeks ways to meet fiscal goals. The government believes that lawmakers overstepped their constitutional powers and created legal uncertainty by reversing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's decree raising the so-called IOF tax, Solicitor General Jorge Messias told reporters. Lula hiked the tax levied on certain credit, foreign-exchange and private pension plan operations in May as a way to boost revenue and limit spending freezes needed to comply with the government's fiscal framework. The move, however, sparked immediate backlash from lawmakers, who said they would not approve the tax hikes and last week dealt the government a major blow by ultimately nixing the decree. "If we hadn't made this move, we would be allowing interference from one branch of government into another," Messias said about the lawsuit. "Our approach is strictly legal, not political." The government had estimated that the IOF hike, already scaled back from an initial proposal for even higher rates, would generate an additional 12 billion reais ($2.20 billion) in revenue this year. Deputy Finance Minister Dario Durigan said earlier on Tuesday that the measure, along with some other fiscal proposals put forward by the government, would ensure compliance with the fiscal target this year and next. Latin America's largest economy aims to eliminate its primary deficit in 2025 and deliver a primary surplus of 0.25% of gross domestic product in 2026, though economists have voiced skepticism about its ability to reach those targets. "The reversal of the decree ends up affecting the economic and tax policy under responsibility of the head of the executive branch, and leads to a violation of the principle of separation of powers," Messias said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Spain proposes bans on concert ticket scalping, fuel advertising
Spanish Minister for Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda Pablo Bustinduy addresses a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting held at Moncloa Presidential Palace in Madrid, Spain, July 1, 2025. PHOTO: EPA MADRID - Spain's government on July 1 unveiled a draft bill aimed at promoting sustainable consumption and reducing prices, which would ban practices such as reselling concert tickets for profit and advertising fossil fuels, or cars powered by them. 'This government's objective is to encourage industry's transition towards more accessible and sustainable models, thereby lowering prices for consumers and also making decisive progress in environmental protection,' Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told reporters. The bill would also ban 'advertising based on fear' of crime or natural disasters, and would stop companies from making false or misleading claims about their environmental credentials, a practice known as greenwashing. Ads for most domestic flights will also be prohibited as the government pushes for travellers to use electric-powered trains. The bill will need approval from parliament, where the government of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is in a minority since winning another term in a vote in late 2023. The government has struggled to get enough parliamentary support in the lower house to pass a series of bills and has not yet presented a budget for this year and next. Bustinduy, who belongs to the far-left junior coalition partner Sumar, has launched campaigns against businesses such as budget airlines and tourism summer rentals, with mixed results. A court last week suspended fines of 179 million euros (S$268.7 million) imposed by his ministry on low-cost carriers for charging for cabin baggage. Some of the rental listings his ministry had ordered to be withdrawn from platforms such as Airbnb in May are still being advertised. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Spain, World Bank launch debt-swap hub to free development funds
FILE PHOTO: Vehicles pass in front of the World Bank building, which houses the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, in Washington, D.C. on May 20, 2022. Picture taken with a long exposure. Picture taken May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Raphael Satter/File Photo LONDON - Spain has partnered with the World Bank to help countries free up money to spend on sustainable development projects via debt swaps, the country's Ministry of Economy said on Tuesday. With rich governments cutting official development aid and many countries spending more on servicing debt than on development, nations are turning to creative ways to find cash to support projects ranging from protecting coral reefs to paying for water sanitation projects and schools. The Global Hub for Debt Swaps for Development, launched at the Finance for Development summit in Seville, southern Spain, will provide countries with technical and financial assistance as they look to reallocate finance to projects like food security and climate adaptation, the Spanish government said. Countries from Barbados to the Ivory Coast have used debt-swap mechanisms over the last year to buy back more expensive loans or bonds and refinance them at cheaper rates, while pledging to use the savings for social and environmental projects. But critics say such deals can be time-consuming, costly and hard to replicate, which has prevented more widespread adoption of a tool advocates say is critical to helping countries reduce debt burdens and address development issues. "We have heard loud and clear the message from many countries: we need practical tools that make debt swaps simpler, faster, and more accessible," Spain's Minister of Economy, Trade, and Business Carlos Cuerpo said. Spain will contribute 3 million euros ($3.54 million) to support the Hub, while the World Bank said it will host a "multi-partner trust fund to finance technical assistance". "By turning successful pilot projects into repeatable solutions, we can ease debt burdens and unlock investments in education, health, and opportunity," World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said. In the last two decades, Spain has signed 47 agreements with 28 countries, resulting in the forgiveness of 1.64 billion euros of debt. The government has put in place a new national framework to sign bilateral debt swap agreements totaling up to 300 million euros over the next five years, the Economy Ministry said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
