Interesting updates related to migrant worker issues
Triangulating from various figures published recently, the latest estimate for Singapore's dorm population is 275,000, of whom about 45% are fully vaccinated.
In the second quarter of 2021, there were only 15 cases of Covid-19 in worker dormitories, a mere fraction of cases in Singapore.
Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo describes what her ministry does in the event that a worker refuses to give consent to a salary reduction demanded by the employer.
Six men had jobs involving ships or marine structures. They had all received two doses of vaccine and five were asymptomatic.
In the second half fo 2020, Singapore could have lost 10,000 - 20,000 construction workers who would actually have wanted to stay on and work.
In September 2020, we had 801 Covid-19 cases from the dorms. From October, there has been a dramatic improvement.
Among the issues touched on are indications of forced labor, restrictions of workers' movement during Covid-19, arrests of foreign workers on terrorism grounds.
This represents good improvement, but to be meaningful, more needs to be disclosed as to how this figure was arrived at and what monitoring system is in place.
The European Union is moving towards legislation requiring companies to report on labour abuses in their supply chain, including subcoontractors.
From 1 January 2021, employers must purchase insurance (at least $10,000) against the risk of the worker developing Covid-19 within 14 days of arrival.
