true what! they came here..they pawned their lands/properties just to earned an honest livins… upon arrivals..who robbed them 1st? beside their native agents?
our credible MOM just slapped a levies which don’t even cared who pay the levies
as lon as MOM have collected their MONTHLEE dues..
where they sleep is not MOM or the contractors/employers concerned…
now which part of the 133rd medias is not publishin their plights?
you tell me…

It is appalling how our employers treat those foreigners doing menial work. However, many of these employers are also foreign MNCs who would never dare do such things back in their own country. Except for a few, most foreign MNCs treat their work permit holders no better than slaves. How can this practice exist in a supposedly 1st world city.

Maybe the answer would be to highlight the practices of these foreign MNCs back in their own homeland. Tell the people back home what hypocrites the heads of their companies are. They shouldn’t get a free ride to exploit Asians and squeeze every drop of blood out of them.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/secretblog/why-singapore-s-social-divide-is-in.htm

According to a report by MAS,

“At the lower end, the unskilled and semi-skilled foreign workers come from developing or under-developed nations like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Philippines. They are paid lower wages than their counterpart Singaporeans, although much higher than the wage levels of their less developed home countries. [b]Thus, the large pool of foreign semi-skilled and unskilled workers has kept
the salaries of this income segment low.[/b]”

I wonder why the government likes to contradict itself so often.

The PAP government and for that matter MND, have an agenda for bringing in FWs .
Not to peg up the economy or take over work that the government said S’poreans
will not do.

The main reason is profit orientated. The amount of levies collected from 1.3 million foreigners said at $300 per person comes to $390,000,000.

The sad true of the FWs life in S’pore, on the lower rung, is one of congestion, dirt, unhygiene surroundings and poor social standing.

MND, are aware of these but just turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to their plight. How can our government do such thing to us Citizens and FWs. To us citizens, we lose the liberty of space, the encroahment of privacy and social and demographic changes of our daily life towards a cultural shock. To the FWs, the exploitation of their life with unscrupulous employers and the lowest basic living standards to make their life not befitting their existence in a foreign land.

The government and PAP have failed us citizens. They only think of the huge income from the FWs to keep to their upper strata of living in the ivory tower.

Most FWs lives in S’pore are even worst than their own living standard at their own motherland at home. Inhumane is the word. Conscience is thrown to the dogs.

Where are all the lofty ideas and inspirations of the handpicked scholars of the PAP men-in-white, seem already tarnished towards greyish black.

I have always chosen a spartan lifestyle both because it was in accordance with my philosophy in life and also because I felt that it would be difficult to do without luxuries once one had got used to them. Fine clothes and jewellery, gourmet food, luxurious furniture, expensive cars – these are things I could deny myself without feeling any sense of deprivation……….I have been through a fair amount of suffering in my life, mainly because of my health. If I had been given a choice to be spared the experience, I would actually have chosen to go through it because suffering taught me lessons no teacher or book can ever teach me.

By Lee Wei Ling

If she really wanted to taste hardship, she should spend a few months living as one of these foreign workers. Or better still, give up all her wealth and do charity work in Africa. As they say, talk is cheap.

Sorry, should be MOM not MND.

4) leesjuanpat on October 21st, 2009 10.41 am

Where are all the lofty ideas and inspirations of the handpicked scholars of the PAP men-in-white, seem already tarnished towards greyish black.
=================================================================

Interesting points you brought up. However, members of the MIW come from relatives and close friends. They never had a clue on how to grow this economy. In the past they depended on a Dutch economic advisor but now it appears they are totally lost.

Lee Wei LIng is trying to acquire more good karma for her father. She can talk till the cows come home. At the end of the day, she is still living in an ivory tower and it is
easy for a well-known personality to utter the hardship of life in a virtual scenario. Did she ever taste what is hardship? The MSM propagated her cause because of who she is.

Talk is definitely cheap. All Ministers talk cheap and live expensive at the expense of the citizens and the FWs. Wei Ling can keep on talking.

How did the issue of Lee Wei Ling suddenly come up…

From #5 New Era

A rich famous girl trying to empathise with the poor of society. It can never really be the same. She was only awakened because of her brush with poor health. Now
she realised without money she will be poorer in health. How many poor health citizens and FWs who have little or no money to see a doctor for their ailments.

So we can imagine the poor destitutes and the poor FWs. LKY said on the NUS Forum our great grand father worked very hard. Working very hard doesn’t mean to live a mserable quality of life and be exploited.

5) New Era on October 21st, 2009 10.42 am I have always chosen a spartan lifestyle both because it was in accordance with my philosophy in life and also because I felt that it would be difficult to do without luxuries once one had got used to them. Fine clothes and jewellery, gourmet food, luxurious furniture, expensive cars – these are things I could deny myself without feeling any sense of deprivation……….I have been through a fair amount of suffering in my life, mainly because of my health. If I had been given a choice to be spared the experience, I would actually have chosen to go through it because suffering taught me lessons no teacher or book can ever teach me.

By Lee Wei Ling

Crap ! Tell that to her father, who is still sucking MILLIONs at an age where he should be dead. Anyway, have you met this lady in person ? No amount of fine jewellery or designer clothes can do wonders to a face that looks like a cross between alien and chimpanzee.

5) New Era on October 21st, 2009 10.42 am
If she really wanted to taste hardship, she should spend a few months living as one of these foreign workers. Or better still, give up all her wealth and do charity work in Africa. As they say, talk is cheap.

ok.. it sounds like you know what her medical condition was. Maybe you can enlighten us?

“……….I have been through a fair amount of suffering in my life, mainly because of my health.” lee wei ling

Old man, so what if you continue to pay yourself multi millions. You have a wife who is camotose now, a son with colon cancer and a daughter inflicted with incurable disease. If that’s not karma, I don’t know what else that is.

12) lobo76 on October 21st, 2009 1.30 pm

ok.. it sounds like you know what her medical condition was. Maybe you can enlighten us?

http://www.singhealth.com.sg/AboutSingHealth/CorporateOverview/OurLeadership/PublishingImages/Prof-Lee-Wei-Ling.jpg

In most cases these menial foreign workers are working in conditions almost akin to slavery. We should take our employers to task for this said state of affairs in our beloved country.

16) Popcorn on October 21st, 2009 4.17 pm

There has been no personal attacks on the Lee family members except to state their medical conditions and for some to blame in on karma.

I detect a note of sympathy for MM Lee in you post. I think it is misplaced. MM Lee with the wealth he has accumulated is very able to look after himself and his family. And he has the best surgeons and doctors here to help him.

This is very different from an incident which happened in October 2006. Then a Mr Chen, jobless took his life by jumping onto the MRT tracks at Chinese Garden. His parting words to the younger son were “Pa is going to work, take care of your mother and yourselves.” It was the last desperate act of a man unable to find a job in 1st world Singapore.

There are thousands of jobless Singaporeans now struggling to put food on the table for their children because of the ruthless policies of the ruling party. Are there any sympathies for them from our elite leaders. I doubt it if the relentless influx of cheap foreign labour is anything to go by.

The deliberate act of keeping Singaporeans in poverty so that they continue to slog at work is unjust and inhumane. I hope you spare a thought for your fellow Singaporeans and less for our multi million dollar ministers.

17) Get real,

“The deliberate act of keeping Singaporeans in poverty so that they continue to slog at work is unjust and inhumane. I hope you spare a thought for your fellow Singaporeans and less for our multi million dollar ministers”

Well said, Get Real !

I feel that the foreign embassies are not doing enough to protect their own citizens. They should work with the government to come up with more strategies to combat exploitation of the workers. They are turning a blind eye instead.

Singapore is PRO-business. Workers are not human but mere digits.

Singaporeans either do not want to do menial work because the pay is too low OR Singaporeans are willing to do menial work but demand more pay because cost of living is high. Instead of implementing a minimum wage system such that, regardless of what jobs Singaporeans do, they are able to earn enough for a decent living. But the govt is unwilling to do that as that will drive up cost for businesses. Instead, the govt encourages businesses to hire workers from South Asia or China – pay them peanuts or not at all, and house them in shit accommodation. The govt gets paid a levy from businesses hiring these workers. Because these workers are willing to accept such low pay, Singaporeans cannot afford to work these jobs.

it’s time the government wakes up! Stop blaming Singaporeans for not willing to take on menial jobs.

We must ensure that every worker, local or foreign, is treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. Every worker deserved to be paid a decent salary to ensure that he is able to support himself and his family comfortably.

For obvious reasons, this will not happen under the present ruling party.

But there is hope that the opposition will win 5 to 6 GRCs in the next GE.

In the last GE in 2006, the opposition WP nearly won Ajunied GRC. Things were certainly not as bad as it is now. Yet the WP nearly won that GRC.

Things are extremely bad now. It is certainly very possible then for the opposition to win 5 or 6 GRCs.

The time for Change is now. Use your vote wisely.

For years I’ve never had sympathy for MND, MOM etc, a lot of lip service.
End of the day its the big $. Today, it’s very telling, with the speed of info etc, our self serving government, how can we ever be a gracious country and people. Even for those who came from the kampongs in India and China, life was much better than the slumps they live here.I’m really ashamed of ourselves.

I don’t really agree with that foreign workers are akin to the lowest life forms in Singapore.I have been to a HDB area before,it is located around the Jurong Area.
These Foreign Workers has the basic necessities . An apartment(3-room flat), Furnitures, Electrical Appliances, A basic bathroom.These Foreign Workers have a better life in Singapore than in their own homeland. But,there are still improvements.

Foreign Workers should have at least a $700-$1000 if they are construction workers.Or should we call it “Humanity Pay”? The roads that cars are driving through,the highways,the buildings.Most of these foreign workers contributes to our economy.We should also treat them with basic “RESPECT”

@18) Slave Haven on October 21st, 2009 9.01 pm

Well said. To add, the 1.3m such foreign workers (FWs) here are officially not called “transient” for nothing — these are digits designed to add to the GDP, while given the “chance” to squeeze as much as they can from us before heading back to their homeland. Conversely, why would employers then invest large sums in such “temporary expedients” that MOM has made easily available (to recap, 1.3m + 533K PRs = 36% population here)? Two sides are caught in squeezing eacfh other’s b****, while another just sits back with levy and taxes flowing in.

When Michael Faye was caned by Singapore for vandalism, their president made and appeal on his behalf. And the Singapore government reduced the strokes of cane to give face to the super-power.

When the Indonesian maids abused by employers in Singapore, the Indonesian government threatened to stop supplying maids to Singapore. Singapore government also improved the working conditions of the maids.

There was no protest by the government of countries of the foreign workers – so no action would be taken.

[i]andrew leung on October 21st, 2009 6.14 pm I feel that the foreign embassies are not doing enough to protect their own citizens.[/i]

let me tell you a story behind this embassies…
if you are workin in the middle east or even europes, YOUR embassy would not interfere nor assist you in any situation EXCEPT if/when you walked in beggin ^asylum^ status from bad employers..that is the only protection it can give
the embassies concerned would not cared about your livin or workin status simply because the embassies aroun the world did not recruit you to work in a foreign country…don’t even dream of a ^FREE^ air ticket home just in case you want to change your mind AFTER your arrival
~period~

yeah but now more foreigner a clever they opt for citezen which is easy to get nowadays…

Slave Haven @18:

If only we can do a study to verfiy that Singaporeans shun menial jobs is true. As there is unemployment handout in Sg, I have always wondered who is going to feed them if Singaporeans do not work so how can they be choosy? There may be a few we encountered but is that the majority? Until now, we are all guessing.

My brother, who used to be a plant supervisor lost his job years ago but had cracked on with a much lower pay, menial job. He was happy just to be able to feed & house his family with 2 young children. He got up as early as 5.30am and returned at about 8pm, and was grateful for this job, not even minding the time to queue for a ferry plus paying the fares for it, to take him to the island where the job was. If the ferry was full and he was late, the company deducted his pay, which he accepted as long as he can still have the job. However over the recent months, the chance of getting on the same ferry dwindled because the foreign workers got there earlier to be in the queue. They must be up from about 4am. Most of these foreign working men are here on their own, no responsibility of wife & children, they may even spend the nights at the ferry point! Can my brother compete? Because of this, my brother lost the job for good, in other words, he got fired.

Do you think it is the fault of my brother to be jobless now? Such is the sad state all for the businesses to make more profit and the economy to grow. Yes, foreigners will sustain our economy but its for the powerful and rich to enjoy, at the expense of ordinary people.

The ‘ordinary people’ I refer to includes foreigners and locals. Both are victims in our Sg society.

Sorry it should be “As there is NO unemployment handout in Sg….” in my post above. Missed out the “no” unintentionally.

@carol – I empathize with your brother and many many more within Singapore. However I also know very well that it is people who is like your brother and those many many who put the PAP where they are. They reap what they sow. Sorry to say this but its true.

Hi admin

I am appalled by Jonathan_Lai on October 21st, 2009 1.28 pm ( 11 ).

His ending sentence is a personal attack on a person and should not have seen the light of day. The free Internet is not a place where you can put down other people esp by mentioning their names.

too bad for the lowest lifeform. FT = foreign trash. they earn thousands go back can become milltionaire in their FT countries.

I think we all have seen, read enough about how the foreign workers are treated by their agents (many are down right cheats), their bosses in Singapore (many are also in the same category as their agents)……….What remains or can be done? Lets try to be constructive.

But 1st we need to understand the system & how it breeds this cesspool of blood-sucking agents & bosses.

How the worker comes to singapore
————————————————-
His agents back home in the villages of India, china, bangladesh scouts the back ward villages promising wealth from working in singapore.

Naive country boy/girl (from China) pays $6000 to $9000 to agent to find a job here.
Here is how the split goes. One third of the fees paid goes to the following, overseas agent, Singapore agent, Singapore boss.
YES singapore boss gets 1/3 for ”providing job!”. Shocking isnt it?
MOM has last year banned this last practice………..but it still goes on.
You may want to ask MOM why cant they implement this?
I ahve always said that MOM should have a accreditation system on the Singapore agents—-if they are held responsible for their overseas agents doings as well as paying the bosses 1/3, their licences should be suspended/revoked. This will ensure the singapore agents pick the right partners to work with.
WHY MOM DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THIS IS BEYOND ME!
(MOM—- its easier to implement this than having to attend to so many cases of abuse that crowd your lobbies each day.Curb this, you curb all that work you do each day. Try it and see.Dont just turn this suggestion down).
(plse note that not all singapore employers take the 1/3…..usually the smaller & less reputable firms do this!).

How the abuse works
——————————
The worker comes, works for 3 months, the singapore boss pays 3 months salary (remember this comnes out of the 1/3 the boss receives).After 3 months, the boss can say he doesnt like the standard (right or wrong) of the worker, he/she is sent back. The worker loses 2/3 of the commission paid to the overseas & singapore agent & is in debt from borrowings back home to come to singapore.Gets paid the 1/3 from his boss….which is actually is part of his commission of 1/3 the boss received…..So he/she WORKED FREE in singapore for 3 months! Looking at it another way, including the agents fees, the worker paid to come to work here!

In this poor economic climate, many more bad bosses do this to get FREE labour.This abuse , the MOM is aware.
So what can be done to stop this abuse & save the MOM work as well?

Solution?
————
Raise the $5000 bond.
Right now its too low…..many errant bosses can afford to pay this.
Raise it high enough so that only serious bosses who need workers apply for & get the number of wrokers they want.
Right now, it would appear its easy for errant bosses to get any amount of workers they want.Bring them here whilst they have NO jobs for them.(its true!).
If there is no job after a few months, the workers can be sent back at NO LOSS to the bosses…….MOM shd not allow this to continue.

I dont know about the embassies here.Perhaps the embassadors are uncorking champagne each night (haha, I think they do). What are the embassies doing to help their workers here.I only hear that the bangladeshi embassy has an officer to actually go around to try to verify if there is really work to do when a Company requests for a large number of workers from bangladesh! Good work bangladeshi embassy!

Conclusion
—————
More can be done by all…..MOM, embassies, the public for informing others of what goes on….etc etc

So we shd get off our asses & start working.