Singapore National Consultation Statement
TASK FORCE ON ASEAN MIGRANT
WORKERS
National Statement
on the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and
Promotion of the
Rights of Migrant Workers
April 16-17, 2009,
Peninsula Excelsior Hotel
As representatives of
civil society organizations and trade unions, we are 38 participants who
gathered at the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel,
The
Government of Singapore is to be commended for its actions to protect
the well-being of migrant workers residing and working in Singapore, including
through provision of labour legislation such as the Employment Act, the
Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and the Workmen’s Compensation Act. We
appreciate the newly established Ministerial Steering
Committee to address issues and seek ways to enable migrant workers and
local communities to live in harmony. MOM has also taken the
laudatory step of forming a Task Force in January 2009 to monitor employers of
migrant workers who have salary arrears outstanding to the workers, default
payment of the foreign worker levy, and fail to comply with regulations related
to migrant worker accommodation. We note also, the actions that
MOM has taken over the years to bring errant employers who abuse and
exploit migrant workers to task. We look forward to working closely
with the Government of
To the Government of
Recruitment of
Migrant Workers
1. The Government should
develop an independent multi-stakeholder review and assessment body to monitor
both the criteria for accreditation of labour recruitment agencies in
2. As a matter of
policy, MOM should actively encourage employers to progressively move to direct
recruitment of the migrant workers they require and avoid use of middlemen such
as labour recruitment agencies, which add unnecessary costs and may not be
fully able to provide workers that fit employers’ needs in terms of skills and
competence.
3.
4. The current system
which requires registered migrant workers to remain with a single employer, and
the ease with which an employer can unilaterally terminate a migrant’s work
permit, has unfortunately opened up avenues for abuse of migrant workers’
rights and violations of labour laws by unscrupulous employers. While the MOM has done a commendable job in
investigating and penalizing a number of these employers, a better system would
allow migrant workers to change employers without requiring permission from
their current employers. By guaranteeing
migrant workers freedom of movement in their employment, labour market forces
would encourage greater compliance by employers with labour laws and
regulations since unscrupulous employers would find it difficult to maintain
their migrant work force. Moreover,
coupled with a policy of direct recruitment by employers, the policy would
place a premium on finding qualified and capable migrant workers and treating
them well, in accordance with the laws, so as to retain their services.
5. Unfortunately,
despite MOM’s efforts, there continue to be instances where employers are
illegally charging migrant workers for an extension of their work permits, and
labour recruitment agents are adding financial charges to migrant domestic
workers seeking authorization to transfer from their old employer to a new
employer. MOM should establish and
strictly enforce stiffer penalties for employers and labour recruitment
agencies that are engaging in these illegal practices.
6. Reports from migrant
workers also continue to point to unscrupulous agencies deducting more money than
allowed for agency fees. The MOM should
pro-actively monitor and effectively enforce the requirement that the one-off
payment of agency fees shall not account for more than 10% of the migrant
worker’s first month of salary as stipulated in the Employment Agencies Act.
7. Labour recruitment
companies in
Post-arrival
Orientation/Training for Migrant Workers
8. We recognize MOM’s
commitment to ensure that migrant workers are fully aware of their rights and
responsibilities while working in
9. As part of the post
arrival training/orientation program, workers should be required to register
their presence in
Repatriation of
Migrant Workers
10. Regrettably, despite
the efforts of the Government to prevent the practice of forced repatriation,
reports from migrant workers indicate that intimidation and forced repatriation
of workers is still being carried out by repatriation service companies, some
of whom use extrajudicial violence and wrongful confinement to compel migrant
workers’ compliance. These companies,
which are hired by employers, should not be allowed to operate in
11. As a preventive
strategy, the Government should provide additional training and sensitization
to immigration officials, airport, police, and airport staff based at
12. In order to ensure
that immigration officers have the resources at hand to ensure effective
regulation of departing and arriving migrant workers, quality translators able
to speak languages of the major migrant worker groups coming to Singapore
should be recruited and be available as needed.
Training in
Language and Skills for Migrant Workers
13. In order to upgrade
the skills of migrant workers and make them more efficient and effective in
performing their work, the Government should provide appropriate opportunities
and facilities for language training (especially in the English language) for
migrant workers. Possible avenues that
should be considered to deliver these programs include subsidizing training
costs, allocating resources for training costs, and giving financial support to
NGOs and other service providers to migrant workers to deliver such
training. Resources to be tapped could
come from the Foreign Worker Levy.
14. Given the major
importance of occupational safety and health for workers, employers, and
Singapore society as a whole, there is a need for compulsory orientation
programs on occupational safety and health that involve training (and, as
needed, refresher trainings) for migrant workers.
Terms and
Conditions of Work, and Rights of Migrant Workers
15. Analysis by the
participants at the National Consultation found that many migrant workers in
16. In addition to the
post-arrival training for newly arrived migrant workers, a number of additional
steps are recommended to address this situation. First of all, standard employment contracts
should be developed by the MOM (in consultation with trade unions, employer
groups, and NGOs) on a sector-by-sector basis, with the contracts taking into
account the particular circumstances of each sector of work. All standard contracts must comply with all
provisions of
17.
Currently, all migrant domestic workers and non-domestic workers are covered
under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and must fulfill various Work
Permit conditions. We recommend the Singapore Government should extend the
coverage of the Employment Act to include migrant domestic workers as “workers”
for the purposes of the law so that they can enjoy all the provisions of that law, especially the
requirement for one day of leave every week, public holidays, annual leave, and
medical leave. Once this is done, a
comprehensive education effort should also be undertaken through public relations
– such as radio, TV, and newspapers – to ensure that employers understand and
respect migrant domestic workers rights under the Act. Migrant domestic workers should also be
covered under the Work Injury Compensation Act.
18. MOM should closely
monitor employers’ procedures for payment of salaries to migrant workers and
ensure that an actual wage slip is produced, showing information on all wages,
hours of work, overtime, and deductions, and provided on no less than a monthly
basis to each migrant worker. This wage
slip should be printed on forms issued by the company that contains the name,
logo, and business license number of the company.
19. We believe that
migrant workers can play an important role in ensuring the protection of their
own rights and compliance by employers with the national labour laws and
regulations. For this reason, we
recommend that the Government should amend the appropriate laws to allow
registered migrant workers to have the right to form a registered society in
20. In line with the
principle of national treatment, migrant workers should be permitted by the
Government to peacefully exercise the right to freedom of expression without
having to apply for a permit in advance.
21.
22. In line with Article
16 of CEDAW, MOM should end discriminatory regulations which prohibit work
permit holders from marrying while in
23. We believe that
there is an important role for Singaporean civil society organizations to play
in supporting migrant workers.
Accordingly, there should be closer collaboration and coordination of
efforts between trade unions and NGOs on behalf of migrant workers. A strong trade union/NGO network can serve
as constructive partners with MOM, other Singaporean Government agencies, and
representatives of the sending Governments who based at Embassies in
Assistance to
Migrant Workers
24. There are nearly
800,000 migrant workers holding work permits who reside in
25. A collaborative
Government/NGO phone helpline should be established which operates twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week. This
helpline should be supplemented by innovative techniques to receive complaints,
such as ability to receive SMS messaging from migrant workers. Appropriate translation services to receive
phone calls, and referral systems to Government agencies and civil society
groups will have to be developed to support this helpline service.
26. The Government should
review existing standards for migrant worker housing and take all necessary
steps to continue to improve efforts to enforce the laws and regulations
concerning accommodation provided to migrant workers. Recognizing the special needs of migrant domestic
workers, who are often vulnerable young women, there should also be set minimum
standards for privacy (such as a room with a door than can locked from inside)
and adequate personal space for a domestic worker’s living arrangement and
storage of possessions.
27. Recognizing the
importance of healthy workers to
28. Migrant workers who
are diagnosed with a disease should be provided to access to basic medical care
and necessary social support and counseling.
Treatment should be provided on a humanitarian basis, and laws and
regulations which call for immediate and automatic deportation of a migrant
worker on health grounds should be re-examined and revised in line with this
principle.
Actions Against
Human Trafficking
29. In accordance with
the ASEAN Declaration Against Trafficking In Persons Particularly Women and
Children, adopted by the leaders of the ASEAN Member Governments in
Mechanisms and
Avenues for Redress by Migrant Workers
30. MOM correctly
encourages migrant workers to raise complaints and file cases when they receive
treatment from their employer which is not in compliance with the labour
laws. However, too often, unprincipled
employers unilaterally cancel the work permits of a worker as soon as they
learn that worker has filed a complaint to MOM.
In order to ensure that migrant workers are not intimidated in this way
and that MOM can receive accurate and timely information from migrant workers
about employer’s actions, the MOM should issue a regulation which prohibits
unilateral cancellation of a worker’s permit from the time a complaint from a
migrant worker is formally received by MOM until the grievance is officially
resolved. During the period of the
dispute, the employer should be held responsible for providing financial
support to the migrant worker for accommodation and meals
31. Migrant workers
often turn to MOM for redress in cases of problems with their employers but
they face difficulties in knowing when their complaint can be resolved. Therefore, in the interest of transparency,
the MOM should issue guidelines, developed in coordination with trade unions
and civil society, which set approximate time periods for resolving various
types of complaints filed by migrant workers with MOM. For example, under this system, resolving a
case of wage arrears might take approximately 30 days.
32. The Immigration and
Checkpoint Authority (ICA) and MOM should be commended for operationalizing a
33. MOM should put in
place a policy which requires advance notice to a migrant worker of not less
than 14 working days before unilateral cancellation of the work permit by an
employer. MOM should not allow
terminations of work permits of migrant workers in retaliation against those
workers using their rights to file grievances, or on other unlawful and unfair
grounds.
34. Migrant workers who
take their complaints to the Labour Courts often face a significant barrier in
compelling employer compliance with
35. The
36. In order to support
their citizens who are working in Singapore, all Embassies of labour-sending
Governments should appoint a designated labour attaché and open a labour
affairs office, and should ensure these labour offices are open and available
for consultation and provision of services during the days that migrant workers
have off from work (often on a weekend).
37. There is a
relatively small group of actors involved in most of the legal cases concerning
migrants, leading to overburdened service providers and frustrated migrant
workers. The Law Society of Singapore
should be allowed to extend their pro bono services to non-citizens. Furthermore, a joint strategy should be
developed to support more legal training on migrant workers’ legal matters for
Government officers, NGOs and trade union representatives, which could also
include greater support for paralegals willing to be involved in migrant worker
cases.
Regional
Recommendations
We make the following
recommendations on regional issues to the Government of
38. The Government of
39. There should be a
code of conduct promulgated by ASEAN that encourages ethical and transparent
practices for labour recruitment agencies operating in ASEAN states. The code should outline expected standards in
operations that protect and promote migrant worker rights, ensure transparency
and accountability, and incorporate best practices. The code should be developed in a
participatory manner by representatives of Governments, labour unions, employer
federations, and NGOs, with the ASEAN Secretariat serving as the coordinator
for this process. This code of conduct
should be the first step in the development of a regional procedure for
accreditation of labour recruitment agencies that can be implemented by
ASEAN.
40.
41. As an important step
towards regional integration, ASEAN should develop an effective portable health
and social insurance scheme for migrant workers originating from ASEAN nations
which would ensure coverage for migrant workers across the region, no matter
what country or sector the workers are engaged in. ASEAN should consider developing, in close
consultation with its Member Governments, a regional migrant workers ID, which
would have encoded on it the relevant biodata of the worker. At the appropriate time, this regional
migrant worker ID could be linked to portable health and social insurance
scheme.
42. The management of migration between sending
and receiving states in ASEAN is a complicated and complex process. ASEAN should work with international
organizations with technical expertise to support capacity building efforts for
Governments, trade unions, NGOs, and other civil society groups so they can
fully participate in efforts to protect and promote migrant workers’
rights.
43. ASEAN should
actively encourage all labour-sending states to develop and effectively
implement pre-departure programs which educate workers about the laws, the
regulations, the customs and culture, and other relevant information about the
country to which those workers will be traveling to work. There should be special attention given to
skills accreditation and ensuring
44. ASEAN should adopt a
policy that holds as a central principle the inviolability of migrant workers’
passports and other Government-issued documents which identifies them. Migrant workers should have the right to hold
said documents at all times.
45. As a receiving state
with significant interests in eradicating human trafficking,
46. At the
regional level, in line with the General Principle 2 of the ASEAN Declaration
on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, the practice
of using corporeal punishment and jail terms against migrant workers who,
through no fault of their own, have subsequently become undocumented should be
brought to an end.
47. We support the
regional civil society campaign for one-day off per week for domestic migrant
workers, and believe that all ASEAN Member States should concur with this
reasonable demand. Domestic work should
be considered as work under the labour laws of all ASEAN countries.
48. The Government of
49. There should be a
Subcommittee on Migrant Workers established under the ASEAN Human Rights Body,
with the Subcommittee empowered to conduct promotional human rights activities
concerning migrant workers, receive complaints of rights violations, conduct
research and investigations, and issue reports of its findings.
50. ASEAN should develop
a supervisory body, composed of representatives from civil society
organizations, trade unions, employers associations, and governments, which
will play a leading role (under the umbrella of the ASEAN Secretariat) in ensuring
effective implementation of regional standards included under the Instrument on
the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers which is
developed by the ASEAN Committee on Migrant Workers (ACMW) and ultimately
adopted by ASEAN. The Instrument which
is concluded should be considered legally binding on all ASEAN states.
51.
52. Singapore should
also support the request of the Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers to make a
presentation to the upcoming ASEAN Senior Labour Officials Meeting to be held
in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on May 12-14, 2009, at which time the Task Force will
present civil society’s proposal for a Framework Instrument on the Protection
and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.
Done in