Singapore to continue reviewing support for workers affected by unpaid salaries

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will continue working with tripartite partners to strengthen support for workers who are unable to recover unpaid salaries, amid parliamentary questions over wage recovery protections and financial assistance for affected employees.

Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau said the government would continue working with tripartite partners to improve support for workers affected by unpaid salaries.

The response came after MP Gerald Giam asked why Singapore had not introduced mandatory wage recovery insurance or personal liability for company directors over unpaid salaries, as well as what legislative hurdles existed to amend the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 to give employees greater priority over secured creditors.

Lau referred to an earlier parliamentary response from January 2026 and said the government would continue working with its tripartite partners to improve support for affected workers.

In a separate written answer, Lau outlined how Singapore’s Short-Term Relief Fund (STRF) supports eligible lower-income local workers whose salaries cannot be recovered from their employers.

The fund is intended as a last resort. When workers file salary claims with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), the agency first engages employers and attempts mediation and salary recovery.

If the salaries remain unrecovered despite these efforts, TADM assesses the claims before processing STRF payments for eligible workers.

The process can take one to two months because TADM needs to establish that claims are valid and that the outstanding salaries genuinely cannot be recovered.

Workers facing urgent financial difficulties can be referred to their respective Social Service Office for assistance with basic needs, Lau said.

Giam had also asked whether MOM proactively informs retrenched lower-wage workers about the STRF after employers submit retrenchment notifications or enter liquidation, and whether an emergency interim payment could be made within a week of a company shutting down.

MOM also clarified how it tracks salary arrears linked to company liquidations.

Lau said salary arrears can arise under different circumstances, with corporate liquidation being one of them. When a company enters liquidation, workers must file their salary claims with the company’s liquidator in accordance with the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act.

At that stage, TADM can no longer mediate directly with the liquidated company. MOM does, however, track salary claims filed with TADM and publishes the data in its annual Employment Standards Report. 

The ministry said the information allows it to monitor the salary arrears situation and review policies and programmes, including the Short-Term Relief Fund.