Migrant workers’ living conditions in Singapore has been in the spotlight recently, especially given the Covid-19 outbreak among the dorms.
International media are having a heyday reporting on how Singapore treated its migrant workers poorly.
And it didn’t help that residents of poorly-managed dorms took to social media to share about their horrendous living conditions.
But don’t take that as the standard, Speaker of Parliament, Tan Chuan-jin said.
Tan Chuan-Jin: Condition of Dorms Not the Key Reason to the Migrant Worker Infections
Yes, there are “abysmal” examples out there, but that doesn’t mean every dorm is poorly managed, Tan Chuan-Jin spoke out on 7 May 2020.
He was asking everyone not to link the spike of Covid-19 cases within dorms to bad living conditions.
The reason that dorms are experiencing a severe Covid-19 outbreak is due to the contagiousness of Covid-19, or what we call, the sneakiest ninja in the corona-family.
And that, combined with many people living together in close quarters, has led to the explosion of Covid-19 cases.
He added that if school hostels have remained open, a similar outbreak would’ve been witnessed.
It Doesn’t Excuse Bad Living Conditions
However, he stresses, it doesn’t mean that the government is tolerant of bad living conditions.
Previously, a dormitory operator who locked up a group of 20 migrant workers was issued with a warning and the workers’ employer was punished for giving the dorm permission to do so.
Errant dorm operators and companies will still be punished, ways to improve the lives of migrant workers in dorms will still be put into place and they will still learn from the lessons of yesterday.
He promises that the authorities will look at and implement adjustments that’ll improve their standard of living.
But now, let’s work on “present issues” while working to improve their lives, he added.
“It is something that we will work on, but meanwhile, let’s grapple with the (present) issues, look after our people and look after all the people who are here in Singapore who are affected in different ways.”
Not Every Dorm is Poorly Managed
In short, he’s asking for everyone not to assume that every dormitory for migrant workers are sh*t.
It’s like saying everyone in Singapore is a sovereign because of one Barney.
That or saying that everyone in Singapore is bloodthirsty and always harm the innocent because of irresponsible netizens who go after innocent ladies.
To know how dormitories in Singapore actually works, you might want to check out this guest post here.
