Around 400 migrant workers, mostly from India and Bangladesh, have accused two Singapore-registered companies owned by foreigners of not paying their wages, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Monday took up the complaints of first 100 workers from India and Bangladesh and began an investigation against KPA Engineering and SK Industries.

The number of unpaid workers have gone up ever since MOM has started the investigation. Some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) supporting migrants have also begun a probe into the matter.

On Tuesday, another group of 100 migrant workers from India and Bangladesh alerted the authorities about issues of unpaid wages and housing arrangements, The Straits Times reported.

A day earlier, Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC), an NGO that works on fair employment practices and well-being of migrant workers in Singapore, had met more than 300 affected workers from the two companies and offered help.

The directors of both KPA Engineering and related firm SK Industries, believed to be non-Singaporeans, could not be reached for comments.

The firms share a common director, who is linked to five other firms providing air-con, plumbing and building services.

KPA Engineering was set up in 2014, and currently has another active director, according to a report.

The common director set up SK Industries in 2023 and in 2025 registered three companies with the business registry in one day, each with him as the sole director.

Creditors have been trying to contact one of the directors for a few weeks over claims of unpaid loans, according to a Singapore daily.

Food caterers have also stopped supplying meals to the workers a few days ago, citing that they have not been paid.

Michael Lim, director of Migrant Workers Segment of the National Trade Union Congress, on Tuesday said that MWC has met more than 300 affected workers to offer help. The NGO has been providing meals for the affected workers.

Meanwhile, MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) are looking into the workers' complaints regarding unpaid wages and other issues including housing arrangements, according to a broadsheet.

The alliance said the affected workers are allowed to seek new employment while their complaints are being addressed.

Workers are usually issued with a Special Pass, which allows them to legally remain in Singapore to resolve issues like salary disputes and employment transfers.

Ethan Guo, executive director of Transient Workers Count Too, said several workers from KPA Engineering had reached out to the non-profit organisation a week ago. They were advised to lodge a salary claim with TADM.

Guo said that while the affected workers can transfer to a new employer, they may have to pay fees to employment agencies.

"If they are lucky enough to find a job through an employment agency, the standard fee is two months' salary for a two-year contract, which they cannot afford to pay since they are already in financial difficulty," Guo was quoted as saying. He pointed out that MOM typically encourages workers to voice out and seek help early if they are owed salary.

"The reality, however, is that employers usually persuade the workers to wait, sometimes making small payments along the way," he said.

"And the workers, having sunk in a lot of money in recruitment fees, are also reluctant to make a complaint for fear of losing their jobs. That's because the employers have the ability to cancel their work permits and repatriate them at any time," he said.

Prashant Somosundram, deputy director of Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics here, said workers may not fully understand the claims process, and may lack the language ability and documents needed to pursue their claims confidently.

"At present, (migrant) workers often have very limited options to recover unpaid salaries from bankrupt employers," he said.

"If the workers have done the work, they must be paid. Wage recovery should not be treated as charity or discretionary assistance," he said.

Published on June 24, 2026