MOM to move main services to Bendemeer Rd building in 2 years’ time

Most of the frontline services of the Manpower Ministry (MOM) will come under one roof at its new S$73m building in Bendemeer Road in about two years’ time. These services are currently spread over three locations.

Officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building on Tuesday, Minister Gan Kim Yong said that with most of the frontline operations housed under the same roof, MOM will be able to streamline and integrate its operations, delivering seamless service to its customers.

He said: “An employer who would like to submit a manual work permit application would need to go to our Work Pass Services Centre at Tanjong Pagar. But if he would like to enquire about the employment rights of his workers, he would need to meet MOM officers at Havelock office. All these will change by mid-2012. The MOM Bendemeer office will consolidate the services into a centre that serves the wide-ranging needs of our customers.”

This is expected to save time and effort for some 30,000 people that MOM serves every month.

The four-storey Bendemeer building, when ready by mid-2012, will house MOM’s main business divisions: Labour Relations & Workplaces, Occupational Safety & Health and Foreign Manpower Management, as well as the Work Pass Services Centre.

A Customer Service Centre will also be set up to provide services such as consultation and inquiry on employment and work injury compensation matters.

The Workplace Safety & Health Council will also be relocating from the Ministry of National Development Complex to the new building.

However, the MOM headquarters will remain at Havelock Road.

MOM said the move to consolidate its services was also prompted by the fact that the lease for its Kim Seng office and Work Pass Services Centre at Tanjong Pagar Complex will expire.

The Kim Seng office will be returned to the Singapore Land Authority while the Work Pass Services Centre at Tanjong Pagar Complex will be returned to PSA Corporation Limited. The move would also free up space in the central areas.

About 1,100 staff will move to the new building at Bendemeer.

Mr Gan also launched the revamped MOM website – which attracts more than eight million page views every month. It now boasts of new features, one of which is iSubmit – an online portal where customers can enjoy greater convenience and reduce transaction time through online document submissions, 24/7.

The MOM has also set up a Corporate Blog as well as a Facebook Page to further facilitate a two-way communication with its customers.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Jun 2010