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This year’s NTUC May Day Migrant Workers Celebration 2019, held on 9 June 2019, Sunday, was especially meaningful as we also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC). During the celebration, MWC announced that it will be operating its first recreation club, named the MWC Recreation Club @ Soon Lee (MWCRC), specially for the migrant worker community.
Since its set up in 2009, MWC has engaged over 800,000 migrant workers through their various events and activities. Additionally, it has directly assisted more than 26,000 migrant workers, providing them with daily needs from meals and lodging, to advice on workplace-related issues and representation through the statutory dispute resolution process.
MWC has done outreach to more than 24,000 students and volunteers. In 2013, the MWC “FAIR” Network Grassroots Movement was established and it has since recruited more than 3,500 ambassadors, who are migrant workers themselves.
Over the last 10 years, MWC has made significant efforts to increase its touchpoints to ensure that its services are easily accessible to migrant workers. It started out with only walk-in centres and has since progressed to having mobile office which go to dormitories and work sites; help kiosks; a satellite centre at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) at Bendemeer; 24-Hour helpline where they can speak to staff in their native languages; Seafarer’s Welfare Centre at Jurong Fishery Port to help seafarers and fisherman who need assistance but are unable to come through our customs; and an office located at the Ministry of Manpower’s Work Pass processing hall.
In 2018, MWC expanded its mandate from case-handling to managing the Foreign Worker Settling-In Programe (FWSIP) – a one-day orientation programme which educates migrant workers on Singapore’s social norms, their employment rights and obligations, Singapore laws and where and how they can seek assistance.
New Milestone: MWC Recreation Club @ Soon Lee
MWC’s taking over of the existing premises of Soon Lee Recreation Centre located at 51 Soon Lee Road and operating it as a recreation club for migrant workers is a new milestone for MWC. MWC plans to recreate a community space at MWCRC where migrant workers have access to services they use regularly, such as supermarket, banking and telecommunications. Sports amenities like cricket fields, futsal courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts and sepak takraw courts will be available for migrant workers to use at no cost.
The MWCRC will see about 15,000 migrant workers visiting each week. There are currently about 20,000 migrant workers housed at dormitories within the vicinity, with number expecting to increase to 30,000 by 2020 when new dormitories are ready.
The MWC will also run a training institute for migrant workers where the mandatory FWSIP and other training courses will be made available for them to choose from. The MWC is also working to bring in membership merchants and partners to provide essential services to the migrant workers and other benefits tailored to their needs.
The addition of MWCRC will help strengthen the MWC’s efforts in engaging migrant workers, in addition to its existing touchpoints. The MWC hopes that this will increase awareness amongst migrant workers of the assistance and services provided by the MWC.
MWC Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang said, “The operating of the MWCRC is indeed a significant milestone for us as we mark 10 years of serving the migrant worker community in Singapore. More than just a recreation centre, it is a reflection of MWC’s commitment to promote the welfare and well-being of our migrant workers during their stay here. We hope that the recreation centre will provide a community space where they can not only enjoy themselves outside of work and have convenient access to goods and services, but also serve as an important touchpoint for the MWC to continue to reach out to them and better serve their needs.”
Responding to the Foreign Worker Experience Survey findings released by the Ministry of Manpower today, Mr Yeo added, “We are heartened to hear that the majority of migrant workers in Singapore are satisfied working here and that most wish to continue doing so when their current contracts expire, or after they return from their home break. We are also encouraged to see a higher proportion of work pass holders being paid salaries electronically. MWC has been working hard on the ground to facilitate bank account openings for migrant workers, through our partnership with POSB. To promote sign-ups, we will actively expand our merchant benefits under our membership programme. As the survey findings show that more can be done to ensure that migrant workers are better informed of their employment rights, MWC will work with the Manpower Ministry and use the Foreign Worker Settling-In Programme to proactively educate them in this aspect.”
NTUC May Day Migrant Workers Celebrations 2019
At the NTUC May Day Migrant Worker Celebrations 2019 jointly organised by the National Trades Union Congress and MWC, and held at the MWCRC, migrant workers were treated to live performances and activities, as well as goodies and promotions offered by event sponsors and partners.
Guest-of-Honour Minister of State for Manpower and National Development Zaqy Mohamad; Singapore National Employers Federation President Dr Robert Yap, NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How, MWC Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang and other tripartite representatives joined more than 4,000 migrant workers in the celebrations. They penned well wishes for the migrant workers and gave out thank you cards crafted by Spectra Secondary School students to the migrant workers.
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