MOM Probes Claim of Changi Airport Worker’s Pay Docked for Being 11 Seconds Late

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower is investigating employment practices at Aventa Services after a Changi Airport wheelchair assistant had five dollars deducted from his earnings for clocking in eleven seconds late, according to reporting by Channel NewsAsia and The Straits Times.

The incident surfaced online on August 12 through a LinkedIn post written by Juliet Low, the founder of the direct-hire caregiving app Maid Without Borders Singapore. Low detailed an encounter with an airport wheelchair assistant earning seven dollars an hour, who showed her a payslip confirming the five-dollar penalty for an eleven-second delay a few weeks prior. Low described the deduction in her post as completely disproportionate, noting that the penalty amounted to nearly an hour of the worker’s time. The post quickly drew online attention, gathering more than 500 reactions and 100 comments.

SATS Seeks Clarification From Aventa Services

Airport ground services provider SATS stated on August 15 that it is concerned by the allegations regarding Aventa Services, one of its service partners. A SATS spokesperson confirmed that the company has sought clarification from Aventa on the matters raised in the social media post. According to SATS, Aventa Services is responding directly to queries from the Ministry of Manpower. The ground handler emphasized that it takes such matters seriously and expects all service partners to comply with applicable employment laws and regulations.

The Ministry of Manpower outlines specific guidelines regarding tardiness on its official website. The ministry states that employers should investigate the reasons behind an employee’s late arrival and should not unfairly penalize workers if a valid reason exists. While regulations permit companies to deduct wages for absences, the ministry explicitly notes that the deducted amount cannot exceed the exact period of absence. As an example, the ministry explains that an employee who arrives thirty minutes late can have only thirty minutes of salary docked.

Changi Airport Wheelchair Operations Context

The labor dispute unfolds against a backdrop of rising demand for mobility assistance at Changi Airport. According to a press statement issued by Changi Airport and SATS on August 4, the airport recorded a 20 percent increase in requests for wheelchair assistance between 2023 and 2025. To manage the growing workload, Changi Airport and SATS introduced autonomous wheelchairs earlier in August to enhance the travel experience for passengers with reduced mobility. Aventa continues to communicate with labor authorities as investigations proceed.