Singaporeans Mull Over Foreign Workers

18 Dec 2012

Singaporeans are having pangs of conscience in regard to foreign workers `who are building our roads, running our buses and manning our shops.' First, foreign workers need to shell down as much as $8,000 to $10,000  to get entry. Even after they get entry, the working conditions and payments might not be as rosy as they were led to believe by the agents.

Whatever the contract period, but if it is 1-year contract, it may not be worthwhile for any foreign worker because he would have spent over $10,000 to get entry in the first place. So the plight of foreign workers has come to the fore at the right time. The immediate trigger of course is the strike by a few hundred Chinese drivers on the ground of harsh conditions.  The strike has since been declared illegal and some deportations also took place.

In the immediate background, Singapore students took up the cause of foreign workers, drawing a minister and NGOs into the debate. The Ministry of Manpower of Singapore is now drawing up a plan by which foreign workers will be briefed on the conditions in store for them when they land in Singapore.

The Minister for Manpower, Khandavel Periyaswamy, describing the the plight of foreign workers as a `big concern' said:”I think once they take that kind of money (by the agents), they come here to put up with bad conditions and they still need to repay their agency fees … it's a real problem.”

Somewhat of a consensus at the meeting was the foreign workers should themselves ask the agents, “Why $8,000 or $10,000?”

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