MOM will pursue directors across all firms in group salary non-payment cases

Five workers from KPA Engineering individually flagged unpaid salary complaints to the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management as far back as 2025, Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng disclosed in Parliament on Tuesday (7 July 2026), well before 196 workers from the same firm and a related company sought help from the Ministry of Manpower en masse in June.

 All five earlier cases, he said, were resolved within a week of TADM's involvement, with the workers paid by the employer.

The disclosure came in a written reply to two Parliamentary Questions filed separately by Yio Chu Kang SMC MP Yip Hon Weng and Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Choo Pei Ling, which the Minister took together "to provide a more holistic response".

Both MPs had asked about the Ministry's approach to assessing related companies under a common director, and what warning indicators exist ahead of large-scale unpaid salary cases.

Tan said the questions were likely prompted by the case involving KPA Engineering, SK Industries and VVR Plant Engineering, three firms that share a common director, Ramu Palani Velu.

Timeline of the wage dispute

Setting out the sequence of events, the Minister said 196 migrant workers from KPA Engineering and SK Industries first approached MOM with unpaid salary claims on 22 June 2026, prompting TADM and MOM to step in immediately to help lodge claims, conduct well-being checks, and address food and housing needs.

Workers from VVR Plant Engineering came forward in the following days.

A total of 407 salary claims have since been filed against the three companies, and MOM has commenced investigations under the Employment Act and the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Tan disclosed that four further claims from KPA Engineering workers, filed in May and before 22 June, were "in the midst of being processed" when the larger group came forward.

He also revealed that MOM had curtailed KPA Engineering's work pass privileges in April 2026 and VVR Plant Engineering's in early June 2026, both over levy defaults, meaning neither firm could hire new foreign workers from those dates.

SK Industries had likewise defaulted on levies previously, but its privileges were reinstated once the arrears were settled.

A dormitory eviction notice affecting many KPA Engineering employees alerted MOM to the wider problem on 8 June 2026.

 "We stepped in to assist the affected workers and understand the situation. At this point, we also spoke to the workers and found that many of them were facing salary delays," the Minister said, adding that MOM then contacted the company directors before the 196 workers formally approached the Ministry two weeks later.

Support for affected workers

On the current state of assistance, Tan said all affected workers requiring alternative housing have been rehoused, and all have been issued Special Passes allowing them to remain in Singapore while seeking new jobs.

It was previously reported that more than 130 workers have already found new employers, and MOM will continue working with the Migrant Workers' Centre and the Singapore Contractors Association to facilitate transfers for the rest.

TADM has processed the majority of claims and referred affected workers to the Migrant Workers' Centre, whose Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund will extend financial help that would "address a good portion of their owed salaries", depending on individual circumstances.

MOM's approach to companies under a common director

Addressing the MPs' central question on group accountability, Tan said MOM's approach extends beyond the company that first triggers an investigation.

"If there is non-payment across multiple companies, the director can be subject to penalties for all cases, and all instances of non-payment will be considered in meting out penalties," he said, adding that MOM will "look beyond individual companies to examine who exercises effective control over employment and payment decisions, and take enforcement action accordingly."

Warning indicators and enforcement thresholds

On warning indicators, the Minister said MOM "proactively monitors salary-related risks using indicators such as worker feedback and salary claims, late payment patterns via payment records, levy defaults, and other signs of financial or employment irregularities," triggering targeted inspections where a pattern of delayed or unpaid salaries emerges.

He drew a distinction between employers facing genuine short-term cash flow difficulties, who are given a chance to resolve issues and sustain employment, and those engaged in "deliberate or prolonged evasion or misuse of corporate structures", who will face firm enforcement action.

Employers who fail to pay salaries face fines of between S$3,000 and S$15,000 per charge, up to six months' imprisonment, or both.

The Minister did not provide the total quantum of unpaid wages owed to the 407 claimants, as investigations into the three companies have yet to conclude.

Ramu is currently assisting MOM with investigations, and the Ministry said it would decide on enforcement action once these are complete.

TWC2's early warning account

Backdrop to the case has emerged from migrant workers' rights group Transient Workers Count Too, which said it had flagged early signs of wage irregularities at KPA Engineering well before the group of workers gathered at MOM's Bendemeer services centre on 22 June.

In videos posted on 23 and 24 June, TWC2 vice-president Alex Au said six workers from the company approached the organisation across 2025 and early 2026 alleging unpaid salaries, and that TWC2 had helped them file claims through formal channels.

"So in a way, there was an early warning signal that this company is in trouble," Au said, questioning why it took a hundred workers approaching the Ministry before serious action followed.

Au separately called for Singapore to adopt a structured wage protection framework rather than rely on ad-hoc humanitarian support, proposing a salary insurance scheme under which employers would be required to buy insurance guaranteeing wage payment in the event of default, with insurers stepping in and disputes over amounts owed resolved through the Employment Claims Tribunal.

He also flagged limits in existing dispute resolution mechanisms, which he said depend on locating and engaging employers and can break down where employers become uncontactable or fail to comply with mediation or court orders, leaving workers reliant on charitable assistance instead of enforceable safeguards. He pointed to the United Arab Emirates, where banks monitor salary payments, as a model allowing earlier detection of employer cash flow problems.

Corporate structure and directors' whereabouts

The episode has also drawn scrutiny of the corporate structure behind the three firms.

Corporate records show KPA Engineering Pte Ltd, SK Industries Pte Ltd and KPA Services Pte Ltd share overlapping directors, shareholders and a common registered address at Westech Building, 237 Pandan Loop, while VVR Plant Engineering Pte Ltd, which surfaced in the dispute on 25 June, is registered at the same address and also lists Ramu as director.

The Straits Times has identified Ramu as a director of seven Singapore companies, all in air-conditioning, plumbing and building-related services.

Records show Ramu holds Singapore permanent residency, while a second KPA Engineering director holds an employment pass or equivalent, raising questions over residency status should that pass have lapsed.

On 24 June, National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said the directors linked to KPA Engineering and SK Industries "may not be in the country", adding that tripartite partners including TADM had been attempting to contact the employers involved.

Some workers told local media they had gone months without salaries, been unable to reach company representatives, or found company premises locked and unattended after promised payment dates passed.

Ramu subsequently returned to Singapore and surrendered his passport to authorities, Minister of State for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash confirmed on 28 June, during a visit to Kranji Recreation Centre where he met affected workers and helped distribute meals.

"MOM takes a serious view of breaches to the Employment Act and the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act," Dinesh said, adding that action would be taken if necessary.

At that point, 20 workers had secured alternative employment, with MOM aiming to place the rest in equivalent sectors within two to three weeks; Ng had said two days earlier that more than 80 companies had expressed interest in taking on the affected workers, with close to 400 vacancies identified.

NTUC and the Migrant Workers' Centre said they would draw on their own funds to give each worker S$200 in cash and vouchers, while 230 workers were relocated from Tuas View Dormitory, where most had been housed, to MOM's Onboard Centre in Punggol.

Corporate records obtained by The Online Citizen from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority show Ramu is listed as director of seven Singapore-registered companies, all providing air-conditioning, plumbing and building-related services.

Four of them — KPA Engineering, SK Industries, KPA Services and VVR Plant Engineering — share the same registered office at Westech Building, 237 Pandan Loop, while three others, KMS Integrated, GM Integrated and HVS Industries, were registered on a single day in 2025 with Ramu named as sole director of each.

MOM has confirmed investigations into KPA Engineering and SK Industries, but has not said whether the remaining companies linked to Ramu are also under investigation, nor disclosed the total number of work permits issued across the seven entities.

A second KPA Engineering director, identified in ACRA records as a foreign national, has also not been confirmed by MOM as having been contacted as part of the investigation.

Tan said MOM would continue to review and strengthen its processes and safeguards, "incorporating the lessons from the ongoing case".