A construction company that declared a holiday for its Tamil workers on the day that a much-anticipated Tamil movie will be released has earned praise from netizens.
Action thriller Coolie, starring Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, opens at Carnival Cinemas at Golden Mile Tower at 6.35am on Aug 14. Tickets for the first show are already sold out.
And Farmer Constructions is also offering Tamil workers First Day, First Show (FDFS) tickets to the movie and $30 for food and drinks.
Redditor Dazzling_Cup_6524 shared the company’s staff circular on Aug 11 with the heading, “Wah this company in Singapore so good one ah?”
“There are still some good bosses around,” commented Drink-Bright.
“Bahahaha. I just sent this to my brother who oversees 100 migrant workers and told him that his company sucks,” said Xanthon.
Shopchin offered a sobering reaction: “Appreciating workers for what they done seems like a shocking thing for some people. Shows how trashy some Singaporeans mindsets can be.”
Not everyone likes it
Other netizens reacted negatively.
“Am 90% sure that this is non compliant to sg employment act ie to declare a paid holiday only for a certain race in sg including provision of a gift,” said Apprehensive_Gur1796.
Moohamin12 responded: “There might be other holidays for other ethnic groups for their fringe benefits.”
One helpful commenter provided some context, noting that Rajinikanth is arguably the most popular Tamil actor and one of the most famous actors in India.
“As someone in his mid 30s, I too grew up watching his movies. This particular movie is so anticipated because of the director who’s a young director and all his 5 movies have become blockbusters,” said TheSacredSoul.
“The website to book the tickets crashed when the tickets launched today (Aug 11). After an hour of trying, I managed to secure a single ticket. lol.”
Company confirms event
In response to queries from TNP, Farmer Constructions confirmed that the paid holiday was given to its Tamil workers.
“Our company has Tamil and Bangladeshi workers. Since it’s a Tamil movie we announced welfare for Tamil workers,” a spokesman for the company said.
“Similar welfare activities will be done for Bangladeshi workers when there are other events.”
Additional reporting by Ethel Tseng
