Singapore’s Migrant Wage Gap: 407 Claims Expose Governance Gaps in Labour Compliance

In a written parliamentary reply on 7 July 2026, Singapore’s Manpower Minister Tan See Leng disclosed that over 400 migrant workers from three engineering firms — KPA Engineering, VVR Plant Engineering, and SK Industries — have filed unpaid salary claims with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The case underscores persistent compliance challenges in Singapore’s foreign labour framework, even as the city-state positions itself as a regional benchmark for governance.

What triggered the mass salary claims?

According to Dr Tan, five workers from KPA Engineering first approached the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) in 2025 over similar salary complaints. Those cases were <