L: a typical catered meal supplied to migrant workers; R: a workers’ kitchen in a dormitory (not all dorms have kitchens)
The Covid-19 pandemic thrusted the underserved healthcare needs of migrant workers in Singapore into the spotlight when multiple outbreaks spread quickly in dormitories. It was subsequently revealed that around 8 % to 38 % of migrant workers were found to have co-morbid conditions. Up to 29% were newly diagnosed to have chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol during their hospital admission for Covid-19, with most stating that they were unaware of their diagnoses previously.
“Make good healthy, then come back”
Al-Amin first arrived in Singapore in 2011 as a safety supervisor. His job consists of walking around construction sites of HDB flats or condominiums and ensuring everything is operating safely. He is the first person to take responsibility of any problems. In 2024, he was diagnosed with high cholesterol for the first time in a company health check-up. He was released from his workplace since 2022 by his boss, who told him to “make good healthy, then come back”. His catered diet consisted of roti prata for breakfast, fish and dahl with rice for lunch, and chicken or beef or vegetables with rice for dinner. He stressed the importance of own cooking, mostly vegetable curry and rice, with washed properly. “Must cook, catering not safe healthy… anyhow cooking…”
“Catering 100% no good”
Miah Sujan first arrived in Singapore in 2009 taking on a job as a scaffolder at a local shipyard. He then worked in Saudi Arabia as a cashier from 2017 to 2019. His catered food there was Arab-style mutton or chicken biryani, in stark comparison to his catered food in Singapore, which he characterises as unhealthy. “Catering hundred percent no good,” he emphasises.
He complains of curry or oily smelly curry in his first month of eating catered food, before making the swap to cooking his own meals as often possible. Staying in a dormitory in Tuas, he cooks and buys food on alternative days, due to lack of a fridge to store provisions. He stressed the importance of being able to wash his own vegetables and ensure clean food.
“Catering nobody like”
Hossain Razib first arrived in Singapore in 2012, and worked in electrical wiring and plumbing. In his last company, Amaze Construction, he lived in a shophouse and bought his own curry outside besides cooking rice in a rice cooker. In a previous company from 2020-2022, he stayed at a dormitory near Boon Lay. There was no fridge and kitchen, and all food had to be catered in. “Catering nobody like.” He added. When questioned why, he mentioned that the curry was full of oil, the rice was hard, and the vegetables were also too oily. At the shophouse, he was able to eat less rice and healthy vegetables.
Despite our conversations touching a lot on the question of healthy meals, I also sense that among Sujan, Al-Amin, and Razib, none of them know much about diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. High cholesterol puts one at greater risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. Without proper education, the definition of “healthy” among migrant workers may vary widely from worker to worker, and misconceptions about what constitutes a healthy diet may arise.
Yet, even if awareness is raised, the reality is that cost is the major determinant of the quality of catered meals. With an average of $150 budgeted for a worker’s meal plan every month, the safety, let alone nutritional quality, of catered food can be shocking. Their low salaries allow little room for bigger budgets. Their long working hours allow few opportunities to cook their own meals. Some dormitories do not even have cooking facilities. Too costly to build kitchen facilities, perhaps?
Migrant workers’ health is held hostage to bigger economic considerations. Might it be possible that, after looking at the various interlocking economic factors, our employers and policymakers have taken a view that a political calculation is the best way to deal with the problem? A calculation that goes something like this: Sure, their health may suffer over the long term from poor diet, but we don’t need to worry about that. They are short-term migrant workers. If there’s a problem after a few years, just send them home. It’s their country’s social problem, not Singapore’s.
Is such an attitude something to be proud of?
15897; 7672; 15881