PUBLISHED ONMay 05, 2024 1:16 AMByLim Kewei[UPDATE: May 13, 12pm]
Responding to AsiaOne's queries, spokespersons from MOM and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) said the Taiwanese merman performer had approached TADM in mid-April about his salary issues.
Wu was advised to lodge his salary claim with TADM and given a timeline to do so, but he chose not to proceed as he wished to settle with his employer privately, said the spokespersons.
The work permits issued to the company's Taiwanese employees expired as of May 2, and they have departed Singapore.
As of the morning of May 12, TADM said it has not received any salary-related claims from Wu or other foreign employees and has reached out to the Taiwanese employees to offer further assistance.
A local employee who lodged a salary claim has received full payment for the owed salary.
The spokespersons added that the former foreign employees who are owed salaries can still approach TADM at www.tal.sg/tadm/contact-us to file their salary claims within six months from their last day of work. TADM will handle their claims using online mediation.
MOM is investigating the company for possible offences under the Employment Act.
When a merman performer from Taiwan started work at underwater-themed bar The Mermaid last November, things appeared to be going swimmingly.
But around three months later, the performer, surnamed Wu, claimed his employer stopped paying him.
The 24-year-old — along with two other Taiwanese female performers who started work the same time as him — has accused the bar in West Coast of not paying their salaries from February to April.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday (May 1), Wu wrote: "Despite seeking assistance from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Taiwan representative office in Singapore, a solution has not been found.
"We are currently actively communicating with the company to fight for our rights, but there has been no substantial progress so far. We have exhausted all available resources and are now waiting for further updates."
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Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Wu said The Mermaid, which opened in June last year, owes him and the other two performers about $10,000 each in unpaid wages.
He had raised the issue with the bar manager and owner several times, but was reportedly told that the establishment was facing financial difficulties.
In the hope of recovering the unpaid wages, Wu continued working at the bar.
A former employee also told Shin Min that The Mermaid owes him around $4,000 in unpaid wages and claimed that several employees are owed at least a month's wage.
"But the owner has been making an effort to find funds to pay the owed wages. Most of us understand that he has no choice as the business has been making a loss," said the employee.
Wu also claimed that they had unknowingly become illegal workers after their work permits as performing artistes were purportedly cancelled in February.
He told Shin Min that he started suspecting something amiss in end-March when the bar owner told them not to wander around outside.
"We approached MOM for help in mid-April, only to learn that our work permits had been cancelled, so our plan to visit Thailand to celebrate the Songkran Festival [at around the same time] fell through."
According to MOM's website, work permits may be cancelled if an employer fails to pay the full levy on time.
The former employee told Shin Min that the bar owner had learnt of the cancellation of the performers' work permits in mid-March and quickly paid the outstanding levies to reinstate the permits.
Wu's work permit was reinstated on April 19, and the three performers are now back in Taiwan as their six-month contract with the bar is over.
Wu said he received a $1,000 transfer from The Mermaid on April 24, but is still owed about $9,000.
"I didn't expect this to happen during my first work experience in Singapore. I had the impression that Singapore is a safe and fair place," he said.
The performers' salary woes have also been reported in the Taiwanese media.
The owner of The Mermaid told Taiwan's EBC News on Wednesday that he did not intentionally accumulate unpaid wages and has been actively dealing with the matter.
He added that it will take some time for the wages to be paid, but could not give an exact date.
When AsiaOne called a mobile number listed on the bar's website and social media pages, no one picked up. When we sent a WhatsApp message to the number, we received an automated reply saying "The Mermaid has closed down W.E.F April 29".
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lim.kewei@asiaone.com