A COMMITTEE studying benefits for low-wage workers has issued guidelines aimed at protecting vulnerable, contract workers from unscrupulous employers.

It sets out the practices that responsible employers should adopt, including paying contract workers CPF and hiring them for at least six months so they can qualify for annual leave and other benefits under the Employment Act.

The guidelines are targeted at contract workers such as cleaners or security guards, who are hired by agencies to provide services for companies.

The Tripartite Committee on CPF and Work Related Benefits for Low-wage Workers issued six guidelines for companies that use the services of contract workers:

• Require the agencies that hire these workers to comply with employment laws.

• Ask the agencies to provide workers with written employment contracts that state working hours, pay and benefits.

• Conduct financial checks on the hiring agencies before awarding the contract to minimise the chances of defaults on workers' salaries.

• Award contracts based on performance instead of headcount or number of workers hired.

• Retain experienced contract workers.

• Ask the agencies to hire workers for at least six months so that they qualify for benefits such as paid sick leave under the Employment Act.

• Last year, the Manpower Ministry fined or prosecuted 35 employers for failure to comply with the Employment Act, up from 18 the year before.

The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board also charged 181 employers for flouting the CPF Act last year.

But MPs such as Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC) and Mr Zainuddin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) yesterday asked for greater protection for contract workers.

In response, Minister of State (Manpower) Gan Kim Yong said the new guidelines should help ensure better employment terms for these workers.

In a separate press statement, Mr John De Payva, president of the National Trades Union Congress, called the guidelines a good initiative to ensure protection of contract workers' employment rights.