Need a practical suggestion

[expat_exploited]

Hi All,

I am Indian and currently in Singapore on an EP. I am working with a private firm which has taken a signed letter of undertaking which states that I shall be employed with them for a period of atleast 15 months from Feb 2003. This is thankfully going to expire soon. However, when I put in the proposal for PR application to my management (my MD) he asked me for another 3 years bond/ letter of undertaking. Is this legal?

Additionally, since I did not the average salaries in Singapore I have been paid peanuts for the past year. My EP has now been renewed but my new contract which has expired on 2nd of Jan 2004 has not been renewed. Hence, I do not now have a contract in hand.

I have also not been given any AWS or bonus as yet though the company which is a start-up has already made a decent profit after breaking even in less than 10 months.

The reason for all this, is that I am the only certified professional in the world in a niche IT field. I can get other job offers but since I am here with family, I do not want to risk rejection of my EP application.

What do I do?

Frustrated & Desperate Expat

[jpatokal]

Workers have few rights in Singapore, your management is more or less free to ask for whatever they want... but if you really are the only certified pro in the world (!) in a field, then surely you have a pretty good bargaining position? Don't be coerced into signing any contract or bond you're not happy with -- if they push you hard, get a competing offer to show and push back harder. I got a nice 50% raise this way once. Working for startups is inherently very risky and you need to be compensated for this risk too, esp. if you have a family here.

Also, do you really need to get your employer's acceptance for a PR application? (Although it is normal to renegotiate contracts after receiving PR, since the employer now has to pay extra for CPF.)