Workshop
on Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore
Singapore
Working Group for ASEAN together with the International Organization for
Migration jointly conducted a workshop on Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers
in Singapore
at the Singapore Council of Women\'s Organization Centre on 4th September 2009.
Organizations
from Singapore\'s civil
society and representatives from various Indonesian government ministries, came
together to discuss how to improve the welfare of Indonesian migrant domestic
workers in Singapore.
Whilst the majority of workers were satisfied with their work here, several
challenges were identified as potential threats that might blight their stay
here. As civil society representatives who work with migrant workers in Singapore share their experiences and encounters
faced by workers, all participants communicated unreservedly and agreed to work
towards concrete proposals and follow up plans to ensure workers from Indonesia have
decent living conditions and working environment.
The
Indonesian officials invited the Singaporean delegates to their country to
better understand the pre-departure processes and living conditions of the
workers. They also agreed to consider the recommendations made by both the Singapore
volunteer welfare organizations and non government organizations.
Background
Information
The
15 visiting Indonesian delegates consists of government officials, non
government organization, and IOM officials. They met with Singapore officials, researchers and civil
society organizations to better understand labour migration between Indonesia and Singapore on 3rd and 4th
September 2009.
There
are at least 180,000 foreign domestic workers in Singapore,
mostly from Indonesia, but
also from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India. They are not covered for
protection under the labour law and many work without pay for months to settle
debts to employment agencies. Many domestic workers from Indonesia work
seven days a week and have no rest days in a week.
