By Shukry Rashid
Photo by IPS
Yes, foreign workers matter. They form one-third of the total workforce that drives the economy. Their concerns, protection and opportunities to grow are important to the Labour Movement as part of its all-inclusive focus on workers.
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay said this when he was asked how the Unusual Labour Movement is relevant to the foreign workforce in Singapore, seeing that the country will continue to be dependent on them in the many years to come.
This was raised during the Institute of Policy Studies-Committee on the Future Economy (IPS-CFE) Conference on the Future Economy of Singapore held on 13 July 2016 at Orchard Hotel.
Helping Foreign Workers
ASG Tay said there are two levels where the Labour Movement are representing workers. On the unionised level, considering that the foreign workers supplement the Singaporean core, he said: “The unions do represent foreign workers as well. In the collective bargaining and agreements, they are also within the scope of our negotiations.”
This can be exemplified by the similar wages and benefits they receive when compared to local workers.
But there is also the other 75 per cent of foreign workers working in non-unionised companies in Singapore.
ASG Tay said: “This is where the tripartite partners have felt that they need to take considered steps to help foreign workers, particularly the lower skilled and waged ones.”
He cited examples of the Migrant Workers’ Centre that was set up by the tripartite partners in 2009, which aims to improve the welfare of migrant workers in Singapore by addressing their concerns like wage and workplace disputes.
The Centre for Domestic Employees was also launched by NTUC in January 2016 to better assist domestic helpers in Singapore, who are predominantly foreign maids.
Source: NTUC This Week
