The stupid useless small-space Josephine is cracking .... u can smell the sense of desperation in this long-winded FB posting. Guess it’s time to do the right thing.... terminate her and tell her to F off from the ministry.
“Received from friends and colleagues, a number of FB posts and Whatsapp messages that have been circulating over the last two days.
As a result of the fast evolving nature of the COVID-19 situation, MOM has to react quickly by pushing out new and updated guidelines. If we act fast, we’re aware there’s little time for employers to adjust. If we act too slowly, there is risk of wider transmission. This is the difficult trade-off.
I can certainly understand the frustrations of some employers. This has not been an easy time for them.
Many thanks to those who have made the necessary adjustments together with their workers. Woh Hup and KTC in the Mediacorp Channel 8 article below, are great examples.
If you have seen these messages circulating and want to know MOM’s considerations, here they are:
Stay Home Notice (SHN):
Epidemiological findings of infected migrant workers started to show links between them at common construction worksites. When MOM saw this, we were very worried for construction employers and the broader community. Even if their workers did not live in the dorms, cross-infections at the worksite may already have occurred. It was not an easy decision to require Stay-Home Notice (SHN) for all 180,000 workers in the construction sector not living in the dormitories. But without it, they could still be out and about. Should we have avoided this move? Should more time have been given? We will never really know, but time is not on our side. Given how quickly and widely the virus spreads, can we afford to wait? If there’s anything we have learnt about the virus, taking action sooner is probably better than later.
Electronic payment of salaries:
Most of our migrant workers need their salaries to provide for families back home. We learnt that their families were equally, if not more, affected by lockdowns and other measures. There is an urgent need to help put food on the table. Yet during this period, employers cannot easily reach their workers. This is why we needed to nudge the 24% of employers who still paid salaries in cash to move into electronic payment. The process can be done fully online if the bank account is set up with POSB, reducing inconveniences for both employers and employees. This is also helpful in preventing salary disputes down the road. More importantly, we have to reassure the workers and not risk them becoming anxious and restive over salaries. The consequences could be dire. My team updated me that more than 2,700 employers recently applied for bank accounts for about 35,000 migrant workers. I deeply appreciate their efforts.
Testing of workers:
There was also some discussion on whether we should have tested foreign workers earlier, to contain the spread of Covid-19. On 19 Feb, at the request of Ministry of Health, Singapore, MOM sent out an advisory to ask employers not to send their workers who are healthy for testing. Why? Because at that time, healthy workers were going to hospitals in droves to ask for tests. The worry was that thousands would show up and overwhelm healthcare workers. Remember also the advice for everyone not to “doctor-hop” but to see the same doctor? This advice remains valid. Our regular doctors are better able to pick up early signs and order tests if necessary.
This is really an unusual period for all of us. Some of the adjustments that we’re asking employers and workers to make are not easy. Neither are they for my colleagues.
They’re working round the clock and trying their best. I seek your understanding, so we can cross this hump together. - Jo Teo
With Singapore Ministry of Manpower