Retrenched to Rescuers: How Jobless Singaporeans Are Helping Others Find Work

The 2023 Genesis of Makan Minum Workers and F&B Advocacy

When food and beverage operations shut their doors without warning, the human toll is immediate and severe. Kyle Ahmad learned this harsh reality in 2023 when his employer suddenly wound up, abruptly ending his job as a bartender.

Our livelihoods were cut just like that, Kyle Ahmad told The Straits Times.

Left confused by the abrupt termination, he turned to the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) for assistance. Months of navigating the bureaucracy eventually yielded about half of the overtime pay he was legally owed.

It was definitely a stressful time, Kyle

recalled, noting the arduous process of identifying the correct agency to approach and gathering all necessary documentation and evidence.

That painful ordeal motivated Kyle to establish Makan Minum Workers (MMW) in 2023. Operating without a formal office, the ground-up initiative welcomes any food and beverage employee regardless of citizenship status for free. By 2026, the collective has grown to more than 20 members who gather periodically for meals and outings. Within this safe space, they share personal experiences and proactively offer guidance to newly retrenched workers trying to figure out their next steps.

Grassroots Solidarity and the Toll of Confectionery and Cafe Closures

The fragility of the F&B sector was underscored anew when confectionery chain Twelve Cupcakes suddenly shuttered in October 2025, leaving approximately 80 workers stranded. After enduring a five-month wait, these employees were informed they would receive only half of their owed salaries because the distressed company lacked sufficient funds for distribution. The financial squeeze drove some affected staff to borrow money from licensed moneylenders and loan sharks, according to an MMW member who wished to be known only as Nee.

Stepping in to help, Nee directed her vulnerable peers to Blessed Grace Social Services, a non-profit organization offering recovery paths and debt solutions. Case workers there successfully negotiated structured, realistic repayment plans with creditors. Nee brought personal empathy to the crisis; she had been retrenched by cafe chain Providore five months prior and was familiar with both sudden income loss and debt issues through her previous volunteer work with Blessed Grace Social Services.

Nee experienced MMW’s support firsthand during her struggles following Providore’s sudden closure.

They gave me cash, and stood by my side whenever I needed help, she

said.

Official documents seen by The Straits Times show that Nee and her former Providore colleague Fabian Soh were still owed eight days of salary for March 2026, alongside unpaid wages in lieu of notice and uncompensated unutilized annual leave. Soh, a 56-year-old single father of two children aged eight and 12, joined MMW days after his workplace suddenly wound up.

When I got retrenched, MMW helped me with my bills and expenses for my kids, Soh

stated, adding,

But we don’t want to take advantage of them and keep asking for help.

Embodying the group’s mutual aid ethos, Soh has since leveraged his personal network to help two former Providore colleagues secure new jobs.

Collaborative Campaigns for Systemic Labor Reforms

To maximize their impact, MMW partners with established ground-up entities like Workers Make Possible and Migrant Workers Singapore. Workers Make Possible, founded in 2021 to assist workers in campaigning for their rights, launched a crowdfunding initiative that year to cover legal fees and provide financial aid for 10 Malaysian and three Singaporean bus drivers who sued their employer over alleged unfair workplace practices. Today, that organization boasts more than 100 volunteers.

Suraendher Kumarr, a 32-year-old community worker who joined Workers Make Possible in 2022 and is now an active member of MMW, balances freelance gigs in writing, research, project work, and food delivery with his activism.

We fund-raise for things like the Labour Day rally or for workers in crisis, Suraendher

explained.

He noted that many workers remain unaware of where or how to access official support, making these ground-up networks vital, friendlier bridges for navigating the system. Suraendher has personally accompanied workers to meet their Members of Parliament and sat in on liquidator meetings to represent those needing advocacy. Similarly, Kyle Ahmad has accompanied workers to TADM for mediation sessions, waiting outside to offer moral support.

No F&B worker should have to go through this alone. We accompany them when we can because for most, it’s an intimidating experience, Kyle

asserted, though he is currently taking a break to focus on his health after years behind the bar left him with several physical ailments.

When the Twelve Cupcakes and Providore sudden closures left workers stranded, Workers Make Possible and MMW collaborated to amplify a fund-raising campaign that successfully raised $80,000 for roughly 80 former Twelve Cupcakes employees needing immediate assistance with food and rent. Furthermore, these sudden corporate collapses prompted MMW and Workers Make Possible to campaign jointly for the Government to consider establishing a statutory fund to support retrenched workers of all nationalities. Their joint advocacy also calls for making company directors or owners personally liable if they fail to pay their workers.

Amplifying Migrant Voices and Overcoming Systemic Fear

Migrant workers face distinct vulnerabilities within Singapore’s labor ecosystem. Migrant Workers Singapore was founded in 2018 by Ripon Chowdhury, a 38-year-old Bangladeshi who has worked in the marine sector since arriving in the country in 2010. Inspired to help fellow migrant workers socially integrate into the local community, Ripon’s organization has grown to more than 600 passive members who use their platform to elevate workers’ concerns.

Migrant workers are not treated as true stakeholders, especially when it comes to decision-making processes that directly affect our lives, working conditions and well-being, Ripon

pointed out.

The group meets on members’ days off to socialize and educate workers on identifying telltale signs of business distress, such as delayed salary payments or reduced workloads. When companies liquidate, Ripon noted, workers are frequently left in the dark and are usually the last to know when trouble brews.

There is fear on the ground that if you talk about it, you’ll be sent back to your country, you will lose your job, you cannot come back, you can be blacklisted. All these fears need to be removed. We need systemic change because we cannot afford to help workers only after it has already happened, Ripon

concluded.