By Ramesh Subbaraman
Singapore’s Manpower Ministry introduced the Foreign Employee Dormitories Bill in Parliament on 4 November 2014, a legislation which encompasses additional regulations for larger dormitories housing foreign workers here.
Parliament will debate the Bill during its January 2015 sitting.
The Way To Go
Under the Bill, large purpose-built dormitories for foreign workers will need to be licensed by the second half of next year.
Operators or proprietors must obtain a licence to run the dormitories, on top of existing regulatory standards.
The regulations will affect dormitories with 1,000 or more beds, and each licence will be valid for up to three years.
The new licensing framework will mandate the management of public health and safety issues, the management of security and public order issues and the provision and maintenance of social and commercial facilities and services.
Giving his support for the new legislation, Chairman of the Migrant Workers' Centre and NTUC Assistant Secretary-General, Yeo Guat Kwang said:
“From as early as 2012, we mooted the formation of an industry association to bring about improvements in service provision and professionalism to this area. The Dormitory Association of Singapore Limited (DASL) was founded to act as the industry representative with which the government and migrant workers’ welfare groups could work with to champion the living conditions and services we all hoped to see. While we scrutinise these conditions for purpose-built dormitories as the ‘favoured’ migrant worker housing solution for the future, we urge authorities not to overlook smaller dormitories in the interim.”
Source: NTUC This Week
