Thick Face Black Heart posted in response to the following
article :
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-13/singapore-repatriation-agents-gangsters-migrant-workers-door/7409844
This is an important article. Unfortunately the problem with
Singapore employers mistreating migrant workers has been around for
years, and MOM seems completely ineffectual. These are the key
areas of abuse that have been identified:
(a) Migrant workers often pay substantial sum to a middle man
just to get a job here and then spend months working off the debt.
This is a cross jurisdiction problem as the middle man ripping them
off is sometimes not Singaporean. Employers also get kickbacks and
they are part of the problem. It is a system of modern day
slavery.
(b) Substandard living conditions which are often unhygienic and
cramped. This is well documented at TOC. The Govt has tried to
address this but what is the progress on this front?
(c) Abuse by employers who cheat workers of their pay, make them
do OT without compensation, overworking them, etc. HOME has a whole
stack of very well documented cases.
(d) Forced repatriations when relationship between worker and
employer go south. Often involves hiring third parties who use
gangster-like tactics to intimidate workers not to seek help or
mediation from the authorities, coupled with threats of being
blacklisted.
As a people, Singaporeans have often confused the two very
distinct issues of migrant workers being exploited/abused and white
collar foreign workers (PMETs) stealing away jobs that could easily
have been taken by a local. To a large extent, the govt has been
responsible for conflating the two issues in Singaporeans' minds
and that is how insidious they are. Its crucial people make the
distinction and call the G out when the G tries to be funny and
avoid addressing real issues faced by local PMETs by hiding behind
this conflation.
