New measures to increase safety and provide shelter for workers transported in open-backed vehicles were announced in Parliament on August 18, 2009. They are to be phased in over three years. Here is a record of the statement made in Parliament on this matter: Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether he
Some people who felt strongly about the issue for safe transport for workers started Project Humane Transport in 2009 to raise support for change. The media reported on migrant workers and decent transport, especially when accidents took place. Quite a few people wrote to the press to put forward their views. A former National Serviceman
The '3 Ds' report (produced in September 2006) looked at the level of debt carried by domestic workers newly arrived in Singapore as a result of the placement costs they bear. It also reports on delays in payments and salary deductions. It proposes a cap on charges to domestic workers. The issues raised unfortunately remain
Tnis letter was sent to the Straits Times on May 19, 2009: --- Dear ST, It was saddening to read your report of the accident in which four men were killed and six injured on Monday morning. Accidents are bound to happen on the roads from time to time, despite all the efforts made to make
This article appeared in ‘Today’ on August 3, 2006 and is reproduced as published. Give the maid a break The issue of a regular rest day needs to be legislated, not left to private contract John Gee A new standard contract for domestic workers and employers, produced by CaseTrust and the Association of Employment Agencies
Today, February 5, 2008, by Leong Wee Keat Link: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/236052.asp They are two different sets of statistics, painting two very different pictures. According to the Philippine Embassy, in an annual report recently submitted to the Philippine government, the number of Filipinos trafficked into Singapore and forced to work at red-light establishments last year hit an
Remarks by then TWC2 president, John Gee, at a forum organised by students at National University of Singapore, 9th November 2007: 'The Maltreatment of Migrant Workers: Myths, Causes and Consequences'. Today, I want to speak particularly about the issue of a regular day off for domestic workers. Around half the women from other countries who
An accident in which one Indian worker was killed recently drew public attention once again to the problem of the transportation of foreign workers in the back of trucks and lorries. 24-year old Solai Raj from Tamil Nadu died after a car hit the lorry in which he was being carried, causing it to spin
