Employers must foot foreign workers’ medical bills (including non-work related)

ST Forum, 22 Dec 2015, Employers must foot foreign workers’ medical bills

We thank Dr Joanna Chan Shi-En for her feedback (“Gap in healthcare coverage for foreign workers”; last Thursday).

Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Regulations, employers are responsible for providing and bearing the cost of medical treatment (including non-work related) for their work-permit or S-Pass holders. This responsibility is made known to employers at the point of work-pass application, as a condition of the work pass.

Anyone with information on employers who breach their work-pass conditions may contact the Ministry of Manpower at mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Alvin Lim
Divisional Director
Workplace Policy and Strategy Division
Ministry of Manpower

Glove-change lapse: KTPH replies

ST Forum, 12 Dec 2015, Glove-change lapse: KTPH replies

We thank Mr Yeo Heng Ngi for highlighting the glove-change incident (“Change gloves after every patient when drawing blood”; yesterday).

The correct procedure for us is to use a fresh pair of gloves for every patient.

We apologise for the lapse and for the incorrect information given to Mr Yeo. We will tighten our procedures
for compliance.

Chew Kwee Tiang (Mrs)
Chief Executive
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

SingTel not authorised to exchange faulty iPads

ST, Published on Feb 27, 2014
SingTel not authorised to exchange faulty iPads

WE THANK Mr Chua Teck Kee for his letter (“Puzzling ‘no return’ policy for defective goods”; Forum Online, last Thursday).
We have explained to him that the policies for mobile device post-sales support are determined by the manufacturers.
Apple has not authorised SingTel to provide post-sales service or exchanges for faulty iPads. Only its own service centres are permitted to do so.
Our customer service staff have helped Mr Chua to contact an authorised service centre to have his iPad exchanged.
In the case of iPhones, SingTel is authorised to assist customers with hardware issues via our Technical Care Centre at Comcentre, which is open seven days a week.

Dylan Tan
Senior Corporate Communications Manager
SingTel

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Dependants’ Protection Scheme

ST Forum, 4 Sep 2013
NTUC Income explains why policyholder’s claim was denied

The Dependants’ Protection Scheme is an affordable national scheme intended to provide basic insurance in the event of the policyholder’s death or permanent incapacity, which is defined as being physically or mentally incapacitated from ever continuing in any employment, including self-employment.

Conversely, if a person is able to perform simple or sedentary forms of work, she is not considered to be permanently incapacitated. According to Ms Tan’s attending specialist, she is able to perform jobs that allow her to sit. We explained to her that because of this, we were not able to accept her claim.

Note: Sedentary work is a type of work that is usually characterised by a lot of sitting.

Minimum occupation period standardised for all HDB flats

ST, Aug 27, 2013

Therefore, only Singapore citizens can purchase subsidised flats. Singapore permanent resident families can buy only resale flats in the open market without subsidy.

Since August 2010, the minimum occupation period for all HDB flats, regardless of whether they are subsidised, has been standardised at five years.

Seeking urgent assistance from ComfortDelGro

ST, 15 Aug 2013

Lost and found after office hours

For urgent assistance, including lost-and-found matters, after office hours, the alternative hotline number is 6552-4522.

Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act

MyPaper, 3 Jul 2013

An expired cosmetic product is deemed to be unwholesome under the Health Products Act. It is an offence under the law for any person to sell or supply an unwholesome health product. The penalty is a fine of up to $50,000, a jail term of up to two years, or both.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said that under the Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act, “it is an unfair practice for the supplier to make a false claim about the expiry date or mislead the consumer by not doing or saying anything about the wrong expiry date”.

Case said a shop is “answerable to consumers if it sells expired goods”, and consumers have the right to seek redress under the law. Errant retailers may be fined.

Measures in place to clear fallen trees: NParks

ST, 4 Jul 2013

We have rapid response teams on motorcycles to deal with fallen trees or branches resulting from stormy weather. They are on standby with chainsaws to clear such obstructions on public roads quickly.

In the interest of public safety, we also respond to calls on our 24-hour helpline 1800-471-7300 even if the affected trees are managed by other agencies.

In instances where there are traffic accidents or injured people, other agencies such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force will be roped in to conduct rescue operations and provide medical aid.

Interns are protected under the Employment Act

Today, 31 May 2013

The Employment Act covers every employee who is engaged under a contract of service, including interns. This means an employer is obliged to accord statutory benefits prescribed under the Act to an intern, as long as the intern performs work and has work arrangements similar to that of a regular employee in the organisation.

For example, interns who enter into a contract of service should not be required to work for more than eight hours in one day or more than 44 hours in a week. However, he may be required to work overtime if he consents to do so, subject to the limit of 12 working hours per day. Total overtime hours should also not exceed 72 hours per month.

The employer must pay the intern for the extra hours of work or for working on his rest days or public holidays. The rate for overtime work should be no less than one-and-a-half times his hourly basic rate of pay. The employer must grant the intern one rest day (which is not paid) in a week, which may be on a Sunday or any other day.

Interns who encounter employment issues should approach their employers or their education institutions. They can also approach the Ministry of Manpower for advice and assistance, via email at mom_lrwd@mom.gov.sg or at the MOM hotline at 6438 5122. More information on employment provisions can be found online at www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices.

When to press train emergency button: SMRT

ST, 23 April 2013

Passengers on board trains can activate the button, located on the side of train doors, to report an emergency situation requiring immediate assistance. These situations include:

• Assaults;
• Molestations;
• Medical emergencies (for example, feeling faint or vomiting in the train);
• Spotting suspicious items or persons;
• Accidents (for example, a passenger trapped in the platform gap or train doors);
• Lack of announcement when the train has stalled for more than five minutes; and
• Train cabin faults (for example, cabin lights or ventilation fans).