Forum: Moving migrant workers offshore would be a step backwards

We should always be wary of the "win-win solution" in which one of the supposed winners has little or no say.

Moving migrant workers offshore, as Mr Lim Soon Heng proposes, would indeed reduce the presence of workers in buses, trains, foodcourts and shopping malls (A floating dorm for workers: An idea that merits consideration, May 23).

But is this what migrant workers want - and is it really the best that Singapore can offer them?

The proposal represents what we should be moving away from - viewing migrant workers as mere tools of production with no relation to the general population and no needs besides food, sleep and work.

Singapore has been wrestling with the question of how to offer these workers better housing, and advocacy groups have all agreed that this should mean more space and smaller groups sharing common areas such as toilet, shower and cooking facilities.

This housing would optimally resemble Housing Board flats rather than the present dormitories or military barrack-type accommodation.

The suggestion that workers should be moved offshore is a step backwards, as it ignores the financial security, identity and self-worth of the worker.

In 2011, then Judge of Appeal V.K. Rajah said: "Unskilled foreign workers, in particular, cannot ordinarily seek alternative employment, often have difficulties communicating, are reliant on their employers for appropriate accommodation, have no financial safety net and are therefore especially vulnerable. They are, in a nutshell, entirely dependent on their employers for both their financial security and welfare."

Greater isolation in offshore dormitories would make migrant workers only more vulnerable to the practices of employers who want to retain them as a powerless, low-cost labour force. It would further encourage the "out of sight, out of mind" thinking that lowered Singapore's preparedness for the spread of Covid-19 among migrant workers.

Now is the time to build on the outpouring of concern and generosity for migrant workers amid the pandemic. This should bring about improvement of living and working conditions, more space and better infrastructure for workers to congregate and socialise, and more opportunities for them to be a part of Singapore society.

Deborah Fordyce
President
Transient Workers Count Too

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