Through her two months with us, our intern spoke with many workers complaining about being confined in their dorms. She shares her reflections here.
What are the legal provisions that enable MOM or employers to confine workers in dorms? Is MOM even complying with its own rules?
The permanent night shift made Zhong literally ill, but the employer would not allow a shift change. So he resigned, but going home was one problem after another.
One domestic worker had a blistered abdomen, another had blistered hands. Both felt they could tolerate their employment no longer. But leaving was not easy.
Musa and Akkas were sent to jail. They had tried to find a way to survive and this landed them in trouble.
Although he has worked many years in Singapore before, Elyas arrives in Singapore in February 2022 for a new job. He tells us two interesting things about the recruitment process.
MOM's directive that all dormitory-based workers must be paid their salaries through bank is nearly two years old. Yet a worker recently came to TWC2 saying he was paid in cash.
Borders are open and workers are coming back. So are the age-old abuses such as excessive recruitment fees and worker churn.
A review of cases related to the SCAL retention scheme identified the main obstacles workers faced in getting onto the scheme. These obstacles meant more work at MOM and reduced effectiveness of the scheme.
The public sector is a huge buyer of construction. That weight can be applied for good. Government projects should come with ethical labour requirements.
