Treating workers with dignity and respect
Tuesday, 6 January 2009, 11:09 pm | 832 views
TOC’s note: The workers at the dormitories at Tagore Lane, which have been featured in news reports recently, are still awaiting jobs and/or being paid. In the meantime, they are in need of help. So far, TWC2 and HOME are helping them. If you wish to contribute donations, please call TWC2 at : 6247 7001.
The following is a message from MARUAH:
As part of the U60 celebrations of the recent 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, MARUAH (Singapore Working Group on ASEAN HRM) held an event to emphasize the importance of Articles 23-25 of the UDHR, which deals with fair and just conditions for workers.
This event, Making A Commitment, was held on 13 December 2008 at Speakers’ Corner. Organized by MARUAH with support from partners such as Action for Aids, AWARE, Transient Workers Count Too, HOME and individuals, a number of speakers spoke up on the need for protection for vulnerable communities such as contract workers, the elderly, those with disabilities, migrant workers, persons living with HIV and people who are homosexuals or transgender.
Members of the public were invited to make pledge – a commitment – to affirm their stand which many did by holding up placards with a chosen slogan promoting a workplace issue. These were captured on video by volunteers, Mr Patrick Chng and Ms Stephanie Chok, as a New Year resolution for 2009 to treat all workers with dignity. This video has been uploaded on Vimeo as a New Year resolution for 2009 to treat all workers with dignity.
The video can be viewed online at: http://www.vimeo.com/2730221
News websites who wish to embed the video should right-click on the video and the ‘Embed’ icon will appear.
We hope that you will kindly give some publicity to this to raise awareness to vulnerable communities’ and our commitment to UDHR principles as we also enter a difficult year for employers and workers.
For more details, please contact:
Ms Braema Mathi
Chairperson,
MARUAH
(Singapore Working Group on ASEAN HRM)
Email: braema@gmail.com
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Good initiaitve by TOC to publicise their cause.
Our FWs certainly deserve all our support though I personally feel that we are being swamped by the great influx of foreign workers.
yeah! I can see already such things happening in the company I worked for. Many were told to work even on new year day for a full day without any off-in-lieu day off.
For those who have problems with foreigners around us, remember it is not their fault for trying to earn a better living. It is the PAP policies that allowed them to flood in that is the problem. Direct your anger at the right target.
F*** office politics. This is not just about bullying, disadvantage, disable and fw workers. Everyone who works is the problem by being silent or being conspirer for fear of self preservation and benefits.
I thought the Tagore Lane workers are supposed to get paid by 9 Jan 2009.
what is the name of the song in the video?
Nothing new – read CIA’s public commentary report as far back as 10 years about Singapore’s treatment of foreign labour force especially in the construction sector.
Any better now , yes – Govt is trying but supposedly middle class like serangoon garden residents are vocal to show their ugly & sometimes fierce side under the issues of safety and lack of infrastructure . very convincing indeed!
Read about last Sunday’s ST sports back page headline on professional TT Coach Liu Guodong’s lone departure after helping Singapore win its 2nd Ox silver medal in 48 years. Of course it is said that he liked it that way – what else do you expect a humilated man like him to say. There will be serious retributions – just watch and see.
What fine examples are the so called leaders setting? Even an old worked out water buffalo gets better treatment. Of course if the said coach were a LBW fan, he might be made the director or dean of a newly created TT Institute not unlike those newly created ones fielded by old ex-civil servant reitrees as rewards, & with high pay as well. Ex-MPs made ambassadors! Here, Liu’s contribution is undisputed……..so where is the justice? not to mention the unfair renumeration ? where is the progress of the gracious Singapore in the making ?
Basically it is the jungle taking care of itself (serangoon garden) and jungle taking care its own ( old civil servants given nice retirement jobs) and all others, foreigners or common citizens are used to work to their breaking points.
Coach Liu is a proud man but more gracious in his final comments than most Singaporeans can be. The good is often interred in their bones. Thank you Coach Liu.
Well you may not care, but the World is watching and soon the vocabulary of the “UGLY Singaporean” may be as common as the before used “ugly American”. – it is your choice.
I hope that is a start to good universal labor laws that protects every worker in Singapore as an individual, with only the “class” of work determining special considerations (eg. special pay or transportation provisions for people who have to work odd hours).
Talking about treating workers with respect and dignity,
i like to talk about the Flyer GM’s resignation.
In Private sector, chiefs are paid high pay.
They ALSO have huge responsibilities and accountability.
They either Resign or Get Sacked when they are involved in fiasco.
The ex-GM has at least my respect for Resigning.
Not all chiefs hold themselves accountable.
so , what i meant is i regard the ex-gm, a worker, with respect .
Hi Zefly (aka Joshua Chiang),
The song in the video is a classic song from the 1960s called “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield.
tks! LPP! whoever who did this video got good taste in music! Mah man!
Anyone knows if it is an offence for employers to detain the passports of the foreign workers? After all, a passport should be an official document and property of the government that issued it.
I’m quite certain that it is illegal, not to mention unethical, for companies to suddenly cancel the work permits of workers, pack them off to the airport and on the next flight home. Nonetheless anecdotal accounts reveal that such blatant acts of human trafficking takes place, “despite” our every vigilant ICA.
What does MOM do with the worker levies they collect anyway?
Any ideas
Juz like to add my comment on Respecting workers.
As an example,
a worker such as founder of a listed company,
should be respected by paying him millions more so that
cases like Fraud may be prevented.
The case of indian firm fiasco enlightened me to this issue of the need to respect workers, no matter how high position a worker may be. Workers need to be respected in terms of paying them as high a salary as they deserve. Based on expectant theory, workers expect to be rewarded.
there are sayings that a CEO is paid millions more, he may not need to resort to Frauds. I kinda agree with this thinking. what say u ?
erm… is holding cardboards like that shown in vid
protesting? hee hee….
Do not support unethical employers! Don’t give them your business! ONLY way to make them learn is to let them experience results of their own consequences!
P.S. Errata for #16: …experience consequences from their own actions! >,<
Not many sinkees realise that protecting foreign workers’ rights will eventually BENEFIT the local worker. The main reason why we’re swamped with them is because they are hired for cheap and have little employee rights. If these abuses are taken away, there’s no reason to choose a foreigner over a local any more.