Migrant Workers: Do They Get A Raw Deal? (Part 5) : Working & Living Conditions

Imagine having to live in tiny room cramped with 5 other adults? Let’s not even start with loss of privacy, you barely have any room to wiggle! It’s in fact so small that you hardly have the space to turn over when you are sleeping.  Imagine too, sharing a toilet with 40 people?  These are the conditions that guest panellists, migrant worker, Jewel, described as typical accommodation.
So what is acceptable accommodation? Kelvin Teo, President of the Dormitory Association, believes that migrant worker accommodation here is a lot better than in other countries. Having  recently travelled to countries such as Taiwan  to look at accommodation for migrant workers he believes that 80% of  the  accommodation in Singapore is far superior. But Debbie Fordyce, from TWC2 and Vincent Wijeysingha, a former SDP member, vehemently oppose this argument. There position  is clear – another country’s exploitation of a migrant worker does not justify our own exploitation. Kelvin, however, did agree that there was a shortage of purpose built accommodation for migrant workers. The government, he said  has come up with temporary plans. One of the  solutions is  to  allow factories to convert 49% of the total area for the purpose of temporary dorms.
Discussing  the  issue of pay, Debbie  said that many migrant workers are not paid the amount they are promised  and are afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs and being deported. Migrant workers usually arrive here already laden with debt after paying exorbitant fees to their agents.
To find out more about the living and working conditions for migrant workers don’t miss  Part 5 of our discussion on Migrant Workers- Do They Get A Raw Deal.

Host: Kenneth Liang
Speakers : Professor Alan Chong, Kelvin Teo, Vincent Wijeysingha, Debbie Fordyce, Abul Khaeer Mohammed Mohsin, Jewel Biswas,

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