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Dec 18, 2010
MP has housing plans for foreign workers
Yeo Guat Kwang is working towards more and better dormitories
By Teh Joo Lin
ABOUT five years ago, Member of Parliament Yeo Guat Kwang was famously shut out when he tried to enter a dormitory to investigate complaints of abysmal living conditions.
Foreign workers had alleged that the dormitory in Tuas was so packed that 40 men shared a toilet. But the company's staff turned Mr Yeo away when he wanted to visit the place. The dormitory was later ordered to close.
Since then, though, the overall picture has been improving. About 27,400 foreign workers were relocated to proper lodgings between 2007 and last year.
The co-chairman of the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) - set up by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation last April - wants to take things further.
One priority next year is to raise the supply and quality of dormitories, the labour MP told The Straits Times in an interview ahead of International Migrants Day today.
To meet this aim, he has held 'preliminary meetings' with NTUC social enterprises such as developer NTUC Choice Homes and private developers, he revealed during the interview on Wednesday.
On whether this means NTUC will get into the businesses of managing housing and food for foreign workers, Mr Yeo, 48, said: 'I don't think we want to purposely get involved, but definitely, if need be, we will explore (this).'
Any involvement will be to 'set the benchmark and push for best practices', he added. 'Just like the way we run NTUC Healthcare to make sure if you sell common drugs, it should be something affordable, yet with quality.'
Living conditions and space for foreign workers are issues that have cropped up occasionally here, as the number of work permit holders grew from about 580,000 in 2006 to more than 850,000 now.
Since it was set up, the MWC has been working with the Government, employers and other non-governmental organisations to look after the welfare of foreign workers.
Latest figures show that the centre has helped more than 1,600 workers who were embroiled in pay and injury claims disputes as well as other problems, including about 200 who were offered emergency housing and food.
Mr Yeo said he plans to introduce dormitory operators to new building methods using pre-fabricated materials that can cut construction costs by a third. He reckons that this method, recently used in China to build a 15-storey hotel in six days, will make it viable for operators to build on plots with 10-year leases.
Dormitory operators are reluctant to build on plots with such short-term leases because they may not have enough time to recoup their investment.
Mr Yeo said: 'I happen to know a group of developers and contractors. They've already gotten a piece of land to build a dormitory, and we are introducing to them the new model to explore. If that can succeed, we can clear this bottleneck.'
Food hygiene at workers' dormitories is another area the MWC wants to look at. During a recent visit to a dormitory, Mr Yeo found that many workers cook and then save the leftovers to be eaten hours or even days later.
'It may be better to be like army camps, which have mass catering, than to allow them to cook individually,' said Mr Yeo, who did not rule out the possibility of a role for caterer NTUC Foodfare.
Another priority on Mr Yeo's to-do list: ensuring work permit holders are qualified to perform the jobs they are brought in for.
Mr Yeo hopes to eventually make it a requirement for all foreign workers to be certified under the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) system. He did not give a timeframe. Currently, many workers who have gone through WSQ are locals.
While some employers are concerned about incurring extra costs, Mr Yeo says the move will plug a 'big loophole'.
'We see some of our workers telling us the employers employ a cook from abroad, but he doesn't even know how to cook. That's ridiculous... it's also not fair to the locals.
'If a Singaporean worker has to be certified... to gain employment, I see no reason why a foreigner need not.'
[email protected]
MP has housing plans for foreign workers
Yeo Guat Kwang is working towards more and better dormitories
By Teh Joo Lin
ABOUT five years ago, Member of Parliament Yeo Guat Kwang was famously shut out when he tried to enter a dormitory to investigate complaints of abysmal living conditions.
Foreign workers had alleged that the dormitory in Tuas was so packed that 40 men shared a toilet. But the company's staff turned Mr Yeo away when he wanted to visit the place. The dormitory was later ordered to close.
Since then, though, the overall picture has been improving. About 27,400 foreign workers were relocated to proper lodgings between 2007 and last year.
The co-chairman of the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) - set up by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation last April - wants to take things further.
One priority next year is to raise the supply and quality of dormitories, the labour MP told The Straits Times in an interview ahead of International Migrants Day today.
To meet this aim, he has held 'preliminary meetings' with NTUC social enterprises such as developer NTUC Choice Homes and private developers, he revealed during the interview on Wednesday.
On whether this means NTUC will get into the businesses of managing housing and food for foreign workers, Mr Yeo, 48, said: 'I don't think we want to purposely get involved, but definitely, if need be, we will explore (this).'
Any involvement will be to 'set the benchmark and push for best practices', he added. 'Just like the way we run NTUC Healthcare to make sure if you sell common drugs, it should be something affordable, yet with quality.'
Living conditions and space for foreign workers are issues that have cropped up occasionally here, as the number of work permit holders grew from about 580,000 in 2006 to more than 850,000 now.
Since it was set up, the MWC has been working with the Government, employers and other non-governmental organisations to look after the welfare of foreign workers.
Latest figures show that the centre has helped more than 1,600 workers who were embroiled in pay and injury claims disputes as well as other problems, including about 200 who were offered emergency housing and food.
Mr Yeo said he plans to introduce dormitory operators to new building methods using pre-fabricated materials that can cut construction costs by a third. He reckons that this method, recently used in China to build a 15-storey hotel in six days, will make it viable for operators to build on plots with 10-year leases.
Dormitory operators are reluctant to build on plots with such short-term leases because they may not have enough time to recoup their investment.
Mr Yeo said: 'I happen to know a group of developers and contractors. They've already gotten a piece of land to build a dormitory, and we are introducing to them the new model to explore. If that can succeed, we can clear this bottleneck.'
Food hygiene at workers' dormitories is another area the MWC wants to look at. During a recent visit to a dormitory, Mr Yeo found that many workers cook and then save the leftovers to be eaten hours or even days later.
'It may be better to be like army camps, which have mass catering, than to allow them to cook individually,' said Mr Yeo, who did not rule out the possibility of a role for caterer NTUC Foodfare.
Another priority on Mr Yeo's to-do list: ensuring work permit holders are qualified to perform the jobs they are brought in for.
Mr Yeo hopes to eventually make it a requirement for all foreign workers to be certified under the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) system. He did not give a timeframe. Currently, many workers who have gone through WSQ are locals.
While some employers are concerned about incurring extra costs, Mr Yeo says the move will plug a 'big loophole'.
'We see some of our workers telling us the employers employ a cook from abroad, but he doesn't even know how to cook. That's ridiculous... it's also not fair to the locals.
'If a Singaporean worker has to be certified... to gain employment, I see no reason why a foreigner need not.'
[email protected]
