The Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) is encouraged by the Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin’s response to the findings by the Committee of Inquiry (COI) into the Little India riot on 8 December 2013. In particular, we commend his commitment to moving towards a skilled migrant workforce and improving housing options and living conditions for migrant workers in Singapore.
As an organisation fighting for migrant workers’ rights, MWC have advocated fervently for these key areas in the past two years, especially the raising of our work permit holders’ skills profile as a condition for their work passes renewal. We strongly urge the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to take concrete steps towards implementing a skills-based system so that we can begin to see the numerous benefits of this system, including more productive work processes for businesses; less migrant worker abuse; easier integration into our society; and no more debt burden for these workers because of the premium they command.
Despite the findings that the riot was not caused by underlying unhappiness among the migrant workers, we are heartened that Minister Tan has promised to continue enforcement efforts to punish errant employers and agents who abuse their migrant workers. MWC will continue our outreach and education efforts to raise awareness among migrant workers of their rights and the available help channels they can go to if these rights are infringed. We will also continue to engage Singaporeans so that they better understand migrant workers. Greater awareness and protection of migrant workers’ rights is crucial to building the kind of gracious and compassionate society that many of us hope for ourselves.
Having championed for better living conditions for migrant workers for some time, we are also encouraged that MOM will be directing more effort towards increasing the supply of migrant worker dormitories, and in setting and policing new standards of livability for dormitory residents. MWC advised on the formation of the Dormitory Association of Singapore Limited precisely so that industry players could come together, in engagement with the government, to discuss and adopt industry-wide standards that would professionalise their services and lead to better living conditions for workers. Therefore, we are encouraged by Minister Tan’s statements regarding the provision of more and better housing options as well as social and recreational activities for migrant workers. MWC has also worked with migrant worker recreation centres on providing the right mix of goods, services and activities so as to make them appealing to migrant workers. MWC pledges to continue championing better facilities for migrant workers’ housing and recreation, so that we constantly improve the way in which we care for those who make such an important contribution to our nation-building.
MWC is very pleased that the Minister spent a considerable part of his response focusing on these issues and urge MOM to continue enhancing protections for migrant workers particularly in requiring electronic payment of salary. MWC looks forward to partnering with MOM to making these ideas a reality.
Yeo Guat Kwang
Chairman
Migrant Workers’ Centre
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