Friday, April 3, 2009 9:31
Gan Kim Yong’s new committee
In Main Stories • 1,283 views • 14 Comments
A new steering committee on foreign workers should consider wider reforms to protect rights of foreign workers
Yesterday’s edition of the Straits Times published a low-key article about the activities of an inter-ministerial steering committee chaired by newly-minted Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong to oversee issues related to foreign workers in Singapore. The news came as something of a revelation – few people seemed to have been aware that the committee had been up and running since January 2009. (See also Channelnewsasia’s report.)
According to Mr Gan, the new committee is meant to look into and provide for the needs of foreign workers in areas from housing to recreation. Its objective is to ensure the “harmonious co-existence” between locals and foreign workers. To do so, the committee has drawn on a wide variety of agencies, with representation across the manpower, home, trade, national development, education and law ministries.
The formation of the committee is certainly a welcome move. The government seems to have belatedly recognised that it needs a more coordinated approach towards managing the enormous foreign worker population in Singapore.
Issues related to the presence of foreign workers in Singapore cut across a whole range of agencies. Public angst has risen in recent years along with the burgeoning foreign worker population, which some have – to much extent unfairly – blamed for job losses and crime. Housing for workers is perennially in short supply. At the same time Singaporeans have also been outraged by the blatant exploitation of some of these workers by unscrupulous employers, an occurrence that seems to be on the rise in these hard times.
That said, the steering committee’s focus seems to be on better policing of the foreign worker population. In his remarks to the Straits Times, Mr Gan described the deployment of auxiliary officers to “keep an eye” on the recurrent congregations of workers in Little India and to “advise” them about local norms, though so far there has been little evidence – as Mr Gan himself admitted – to suggest that foreign workers are a threat to law and order.
The government’s preoccupation seems to be on “reassuring” citizens concerned about the heavy concentration of foreign workers in some areas. In this context, the new committee seems to serve a political purpose in helping to assuage popular ire against the government’s open-door foreign worker policies.
On the other hand, little was said about how to ensure that the rights of such workers are better protected. To its credit, the government has recently cracked down on errant employers after the Internet-based alternative media persevered with highlighting the latter’s misdeeds, and the new committee itself oversaw the construction of a new dormitory and recreational centre for foreign workers.
But the authorities have yet to indicate how it intends to reform a system that seems to have been persistently violated. Moreover, serious structural deficiencies remain addressed. While the construction of the new dormitory is a positive move, the fact remains that the vast majority of housing is provided by employers, quite a few of whom seem to have no qualms about squeezing as many workers as they can into squalid conditions.
Mr Gan’s new and broad-based committee would thus be well-suited for considering such wider reforms; unfortunately though, that does not seem to be on its agenda. In any case, the economic recession and its dampening effect on demand for foreign workers will probably ease pressure on the government to do so in the first place.
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14 Comments
Ai lLy
True Coloration de Facade Illusionist
Well done TOC for praising the gov and also providing a few of your thoughts.
This proves TOC is not anti establishment. It is actually pro in some ways.
Keep it up. I am your fan.
Analogy: You announce that you want to paint the house. But you have to go out to get the paint – which you do not want to do at any cost. So you simply arrange the furniture and declare that the place is renewed instead.
Same old, same old…
lego
“I don’t like this Mr Gan. He gives me a feeling that he has high regard for himself and catagory himself as the elites. ”
Ai lLy,
I share your sentiments about Gan. He comes from a very wealthy family (he admitted it himself some time ago), so don’t expect any empathy from him on the key issues facing Lesser Mortals like us.
He does NOT have any real solutions or ideas……it is the same old “retraining” and “lower your job expectattons”. S’poreans have been lowering our job expectations for the last several years and all the “retraining” has not given us any pay rise or job security.
Chan chuah wai
To True Coloration
Your sarcastic comments do not add value to the discussion if you want to bash toc please find another platform to do it. The writer has given a thoughtful article on his positions, he at least deserves the respect that if you criticize him you address the substance of his piece, and not waste his space and time criticizing him.
If there is progress being made, shouldn’t toc report that? Or would you prefer they slant it in such a way that ANYTHING done by the government is bad? Does that make sense? No, its called LYING.
Now when there is a screw up like Films Act or public order act, toc goes full steam to criticize, but if there really is something good to say then why bash for the sake of bashing?
I’m really sick of people like you.
For show only
Aiya, you know this MOM style lah, whenever there is a big problem, they only know how to have new committee, rules, procedures, training, certification etc ie more paperwork and cost which show “action” but not much effect. Something like those SAF “paper Generals”. These people are paid fabulously just to perform these “actions”.
Take for instance safety at workplaces. They come up with lots of rules covering ALL workplaces and safety certification but the accident and death rate has not decreased from the past at the dangerous worksites eg construction and marine industry!. They also inconvenience other industries which does not have a safety issue and add to cost.
Sian Ka Beh Si
It is interesting that foreign workers’ rights must be protected. Well what about SINGAPOREAN WORKERS right to earning a living in their COUNTRY OF BIRTH! What protection do we have when the so-called ‘foreign talent’ are not only replacing us but lording over us that so many SINGAPOREANS see no ALTERNATIVE but to leave the country in search of an adopted home that offers some hope of being economically independent and where our talents, skills and experience are VALUED.
It is sad that some of us feel like a 3rd-class CITIZEN IN OUR OWN COUNTRY and THROWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP in favor of FOREIGNERS!
Damien
Sian Ka Beh Si,
I do not understand the rationale of your thinking. The foreign workers are not here to harm us in any way. What kind protection do we need?
No one says that Singaporean’s rights should not be protected. However, I think that we are on the issue of human rights and labour rights and the foreign workers are humans and workers too. Them being from foreign lands is not a reason to deprive them of the rights that they deserve. I agree that more can be done to help Singaporeans, especially in times such as these, however the foreign workers should not be neglected for if we are to foster a society that is harmonious, inclusive and one that is fair and just, we have to do our best to include everyone. Yes I understand that some of them have taken over our jobs at a lower wage rate and this in turn causes employers to turn towards lower cost labour, however, steps have been put in place by the government to ensure that Singaporeans are not excluded from job opportunities just because they cost more to hire. It is sad however, that these rules are not strictly enforced, and the bulk of the blame lies on the government. Moreover, the bulk the foreign workers that we are talking about here are those who are manual labourers. I do not think that translates to lording over Singaporeans nor do I think they replaced Singaporeans in any way.
D
Hal
TOC should write a 100 days in office report.
“Mr Gan’s new and broad-based committee would thus be well-suited for considering such wider reforms; unfortunately though, that does not seem to be on its agenda. In any case, the economic recession and its dampening effect on demand for foreign workers will probably ease pressure on the government to do so in the first place.”
It’s everyone for themselves now. No time for the foreigners.
from within is a concept of illusionment de factionalise
Sounds like new batch is new DPM and Mr Gan is getting good reviews.
Well done , keep it up! like this continue on , more good year liao.
iliveinuk
Hey #1 and #4,
where did you get the facts about Mr Gan coming from a rich family? i remember reading an article that he grew up in a poor family and slowly worked his way up the ladder from being poor to successful.
If i remember it was an article published during elections and it also stated that Mr Gan empathized with the fellow Singaporean due to his humble background.
How can it be that he is proud and elite? i highly doubt that. I am not saying this because i support the gahment but rather i think sometimes we can (cuo4 guai4 hao2 ren3) misunderstand a good person because we dont know or fail to have contact with the person.
Just my thoughts
Loyola
Well, what about compulsory medical insurance for a start for all employees, regardless of nationality?
Observer(SG-HK)
It is indeed a laudable effort on the crackdown of the errant employers over the living condition of the foreign employed workers (including errant employers who flaunt he laws and refused to salary payment for services rendered). I attributed this pro-active action partly dued to the exposure it had got through many publications concerning the ill-treatment of FW in Singapore by TOC.
Well, I sincerely hope that MOM or its association will also look into local Singaporeans need pro-actively. I think stricter rules is needed for employers who exploit our local Singaporean workers as well. Acessive over time work seemed to be taken for granted errant employers as well and local workers (particularly those who are submissive and have lesser bargaining power) fearing that they will be reprimanded or be considered as uncooperative in their performance appraisal if they refused to observed this so-call “Norm Working Hours”. This practice should be stopped as it does affect family time and this is definitely not healthy both for the company as well as the employees.
Regardless of whether it is local Singaporean workers or Foreign Workers, it is people who had made their contribution in every sense and should be treated humanely and with a little respect. Errant employers out there, you are human too. You have family too. Today you might be at the helm, with this Financial Tsunami and may be other possible worse events evolving in future, you may find yourself in the shoes of these employees whom you once ill treated. There is no guarantee in life that rosy times will always be there and please do not take things for granted. Think again.
Sian Ka Beh Si
My dear Damien
You are of course entitled to your own opinion.
I never said that foreign workers’ rights should not be protected and I am not referring to foreign workers but foreign talent. All I am saying is that Singaporeans’ rights have been eroded away (not that we have that much in the first place) with the influx of these so call ‘talents’ like as if Singaporeans have ‘no talent’. In my previous workplace, 7 out of 10 are foreigners and are in high positions and lording over us ‘lowly, no talent Singaporeans’. AND for your information, I possess several Masters degrees from western universities and have lived and worked in several western and eastern countries for more than a decade so I am not without ‘talent’ nor do I not know how local workers are protected overseas both through employment law and practices.
What I wanted to highlight was the plight of well educated born and bred Singaporeans who face an uncertain future having seen their jobs being taken by these so called ‘foreign talent’. How are they going to live, build a family and contribute when they cannot even be financially independent?
Do review the following statistics from MOM:
For the year 2008, the labor force in Singapore is 2,939,900 while the resident workforce is 1,928,300. To quote Mr Leong Sze Hian from another TOC side “according to the MOM’s latest Labour Market 2008 report, Employment Change (growth in employment) for locals (citizens and PRs) as a percentage change declined from 38 per cent in 2007 to 29 per cent in 2008.
The percentage of foreigners to total employment has increased to 36 per cent. Whilst local employment grew by 64,700 or 3.5 per cent in 2008, foreign employment grew by 156,900 (or 17%) in 2008, up from 144,500 (or 19%) in 2007.
Interestingly some comments from jobcentral forum:
“yes, they are called foreign talents…and does not necessarily mean cheap labor. i know foreigners who make more money than some locals”
” what i cannot tahan is foreign talent that bad mouth singapore, singaporeans and our system, our hdb, our buses, etc etc. To those, I say, we don’t want you here!
all you have to do is visit the forum at Singapore Expats and your blood will boil. They all talk like they are damn great and call us “natives” among other names”
I don’t like this Mr Gan. He gives me a feeling that he has high regard for himself and catagory himself as the elites. Elites will only do the right things for government but not to the people. Instituition interest will be their priority. Employers are their profit center and they will not implement policy that is against them. Instead, what ever reform Gan does, it will be minor step at a time to address minor issues which will not change the facts that our employers are exploiting worker in every other way.