Articles > Facts, Research, Analysis
The dorms are not the problem
An essay based on a talk given by Alex Au at a Labour Day webinar organised by Maruah in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic that badly affected migrant workers in Singapore.
A self-cultivated Achilles heel
As Covid-19 infections among migrant workers hit new highs, John Gee takes stock of the bigger picture: What is it about Singapore's migrant labour policy that makes this crisis a self-inflicted one, and where do we go from here?
Covid-19 transmission rates in dorms are bad (mid-April 2020)
The increase in cases in quarantined and non-quarantined dorms are compared in this article, It is clearly worse in non-quarantined dorms. Why is that so?
Thinning out the dorms: we have the acreage, do we have the will?
Moving foreign workers out of crowded dorms is imperative, but slow action is probably traceable to mental blocks among policy-makers. Due to obstinacy, how bad can things get? Very bad.
Is Singapore falling behind in testing for Covid-19?
When a worker is infected with Covid-19, it is surprising that none of his room-mates are immediately tested, and this raises big questions about Singapore's testing capability and the overall strategy.
Electronic payment of salary: ten years’ inaction catches up on Singapore
Three days after TWC2 issued a media statement touching on the incompatibility between cash payment of salaries and quarantine, MOM issued a directive requiring electronic payment. But what new chaos await us as this is hastily implemented?
In defence of … squalor
Why are worker dormitories said to be so dirty? Who is responsible? What connection with Covid-19?
Covid-19: the risks from packing them in
To keep costs down, we have created worker dormitories with very high density. It's a recipe for contagion. But if we have to lower the density quickly and move some men out, is there anything we can do?
Swindle, cheat and manipulate: so what can be done?
Since job scams arise from misrepresentation of the nature and terms of the job, a solution must lie in eliminating opportunities for deception. Workers must have direct access to employers' submissions and MOM's electronic records.
If even educated people from source countries know so little about Singapore, how can they be training workers for us?
At a conference session on upskilling, TWC2 saw the enormity of the challenge for Singapore as we try to raise productivity among migrant workers and fill our future care-giving needs.