THE Myanmar Embassy to Singapore has released an ad­visory for citizens planning to work in Singapore, following a rise in requests for assistance from workers facing disputes with their employers.

For Myanmar nationals, the embassy provides support by investigating their difficulties, intervening in cases where em­ployment agencies are found to be dishonest, coordinating with the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) in Singapore and the Ministry of Labour in Myanmar to protect workers’ interests and address grievances.

This advisory follows vari­ous reports in news outlets and on social media regarding the struggles of Myanmar migrants in Singapore.

The embassy highlighted several critical problems: con­tractual misunderstanding, some agencies’ pressure on individuals to sign contracts without suffi­cient time to read, job mismatch­es, extortion, wage discrepan­cies, and financial and legal loss.

To avoid these pitfalls, the embassy advises those planning to work in Singapore to acquire basic English or Chinese lan­guage skills, to use only regis­tered employment agencies, to carefully review all terms in contracts before signing, and to maintain clear records of the names and addresses of the agencies. If difficulties arise, workers should approach the embassy with complete docu­mentation and the embassy will then contact the relevant min­istries to facilitate assistance. — MT/ZN