Published : 10 Nov 2026, 12:16 PM
Updated : 10 Nov 2026, 12:19 PM
A Bangladeshi migrant worker who has campaigned for better wages and labour rights in Singapore has questioned the rejection of his work permit renewal application after 16 years in the country.
Ripon Chowdhury says Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) rejected his application after he publicly compared migrant workers' earnings with the prime minister's salary and called for stronger protections.
Singapore-based news outlet The Online Citizen (TOC) reported the matter on Monday.
Ripon began working in Singapore in 2010 and has been employed as a pipe fitter at marine industry company Seatrium since 2012. He also founded an organisation called Migrant Workers Singapore (MWS).
The controversy gained attention after Ripon released a video comparing a migrant worker's monthly earnings of around S$400 with the prime minister's monthly salary, which he put at S$183,000.
Richard Weng, an administrator of the Facebook page Future of Singapore and a supporter of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), criticised the video and Ripon's online petition.
Weng argued that the S$400 figure represented basic pay and excluded overtime and allowances.
Citing a 2026 survey by migrant worker advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), he said migrant workers earned an average of S$976 per month, including allowances, while workers in the marine sector earned S$567 excluding overtime.
Ripon's petition calls for a two-year extension of work permits, explanations when renewal applications are rejected and legal protection for workers who criticise government policies.
Responding to the criticism, Ripon said he was not seeking to change Singapore's rules but was raising concerns about workers' rights, dignity and discrimination.
According to TOC, Ripon posted a video on Sept 20 calling for a minimum monthly wage of S$2,000 for all workers in Singapore.
On Oct 1, Seatrium's human resources department informed him that MOM had rejected his work permit renewal application.
He refused to sign a resignation letter that cited his inability to renew his work permit.
On Oct 26, 24 organisations, including MWS, appealed to the ministry to reconsider the decision. A separate appeal was submitted through a member of parliament on Oct 19.
As of Nov 6, an online petition seeking renewal of Ripon's permit had gathered 1,960 signatures. His current permit is due to expire on Nov 21.
The case has drawn comparisons with that of another Bangladeshi worker, Zakir Hossain, whose work permit was not renewed in 2022 following social media posts that MOM described as misleading, false or deliberately inflammatory.
TOC said it had sought comments from MOM but received no response by the time of publication.
