Riots and Rights: Law and Exclusion in Singapore’s Migrant Worker Regime

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaclyn L. NEO

AbstractThis article examines the legal framework regulating unskilled and low-skilled migrant workers in Singapore. It argues that the current legal framework discriminates against these migrant workers and conceptualizes them as undesirable for inclusion in the wider society. This, it is contended, is premised on the assumption that migrant workers could be sequestered from the local population to some extent. This article provides some challenges to this assumption, highlighting instead some of the broader social and political consequences of this exclusionary legal framework. Consequently, it is argued that a more inclusive and integrationist approach is needed, and some positive developments are highlighted.

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-441
Author(s):  
Stanislav Alkhasov ◽  
Sergey Ryazantsev

Amur Region (also named Amur Oblast) is a border region of Russia, characterized by socio-economic disadvantages (low standard of living, high prices) and unfavorable climatic conditions in part of the territory. Major projects in the field of construction, transportation, industrial production, fuel, and energy are being implemented in this region: the Vostochny Cosmodrome, the Amur Gas Processing Plant, etc. Territories of accelerated socioeconomic development (the Russian acronym is TOR) are being created. The regional government is making efforts to increase the investment attractiveness of the region, which is of interest to the business communities of neighboring countries. We formulate the portrait of a typical potential migrant worker who is ready to relocate to work in the Amur Region. According to the data of Internet recruitment, we show that the migration inflow prevails for the purpose of rotational basis (temporary) work. We identify the most significant donor regions, popular industries, and median salary expectations of potential migrant workers. We pay attention to the fact that the salaries of rotational basis workers are, on average, noticeably higher than the salaries of the local population: it becomes an additional factor of social tension. The incomes of rotational basis workers increase the values of regional average salaries, but in reality, this money does not remain inside Amur Region. Disproportions in the labour market are one more factor in the growth of inequality in the region, which additionally provokes the outflow of the local population from the region. Accordingly, the implementation of large-scale construction and fuel and energy projects in its current form is unable to overcome negative demographic trends, because it cannot individually solve the complex problems of socio-economic development of the Russian Amur river region. Social programs, such as «Zemsky Teacher» and «Zemsky Doctor», are not of a systematic nature. Ultimately, the social sector continues to degrade and does not receive a meaningful inflow of new highly qualified specialists (doctors, teachers, scientists, etc.) from outside.


2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 634-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Koh

ObjectivesDaily numbers of COVID-19 in Singapore from March to May 2020, the cause of a surge in cases in April and the national response were examined, and regulations on migrant worker accommodation studied.MethodsInformation was gathered from daily reports provided by the Ministry of Health, Singapore Statues online and a Ministerial statement given at a Parliament sitting on 4 May 2020.ResultsA marked escalation in the daily number of new COVID-19 cases was seen in early April 2020. The majority of cases occurred among an estimated 295 000 low-skilled migrant workers living in foreign worker dormitories. As of 6 May 2020, there were 17 758 confirmed COVID-19 cases among dormitory workers (88% of 20 198 nationally confirmed cases). One dormitory housing approximately 13 000 workers had 19.4% of residents infected. The national response included mobilising several government agencies and public volunteers. There was extensive testing of workers in dormitories, segregation of healthy and infected workers, and daily observation for fever and symptoms. Twenty-four dormitories were declared as ‘isolation areas’, with residents quarantined for 14 days. New housing, for example, vacant public housing flats, military camps, exhibition centres, floating hotels have been provided that will allow for appropriate social distancing.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted migrant workers as a vulnerable occupational group. Ideally, matters related to inadequate housing of vulnerable migrant workers need to be addressed before a pandemic.


Author(s):  
Philip Martin

Low-skilled migrant workers often pay high fees to work abroad, which reduces the remittances they can send to their families and is regressive because low-skilled workers pay more than high-skilled workers. No one knows exactly how much workers pay, justifying more data on this in order to reduce worker-paid costs. Media exposés of workers who paid a year’s foreign earnings to get a two-year contract may leave the impression that all workers pay such high fees, although the data collected from workers in diverse corridors do not support such a conclusion. Since the number of low-skilled workers often exceeds the number of jobs, worker willingness to pay can be a way of allocating scarce jobs among workers, although government efforts to limit what workers pay can drive payments underground.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (262) ◽  
pp. 97-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans J. Ladegaard

AbstractMany people in developing countries are faced with a dilemma. If they stay at home, their children are kept in poverty with no prospects of a better future; if they become migrant workers, they will suffer long-term separation from their families. This article focuses on one of the weakest groups in the global economy: domestic migrant workers. It draws on a corpus of more than 400 narratives recorded at a church shelter in Hong Kong and among migrant worker returnees in rural Indonesia and the Philippines. In sharing sessions, migrant women share their experiences of working for abusive employers, and the article analyses how language is used to include and exclude. The women tell how their employers construct them as “incompetent” and “stupid” because they do not speak Chinese. However, faced by repression and marginalisation, the women use their superior English language skills to get back at their employers and momentarily gain the upper hand. Drawing on ideologies of language as the theoretical concept, the article provides a discourse analysis of selected excerpts focusing on language competence and identity construction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238212052097719
Author(s):  
Crystal Lim ◽  
Jamie Xuelian Zhou ◽  
Natalie Liling Woong ◽  
Min Chiam ◽  
Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna

Background: With nearly 400 000 migrant workers in Singapore, many from Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, language and cultural barriers posed a great many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was especially so as majority of the COVID-19 clusters in Singapore emerged from their communal dormitories. With concerns arising as to how this minority group could be best cared for in the intensive care units, the need for medical interpreters became clear. Main: In response, the Communication and Supportive Care (CSC) workgroup at the Singapore General Hospital developed the ‘Medical Interpreters Training for ICU Conversations’ program. Led by a medical social worker-cum-ethicist and 2 palliative care physicians, twenty volunteers underwent training. The program comprised of 4 parts. Firstly, volunteers were provided with an overview of challenges within the COVID-19 isolation ICU environment. Discussed in detail were common issues between patients and families, forms of distress faced by healthcare workers, family communication modality protocols, and the sociocultural demographics of Singapore’s migrant worker population. Secondly, key practice principles and ‘Do’s/Don’ts’ in line with the ethical principles of medical interpretation identified by the California Healthcare Interpreters Association were shared. Thirdly, practical steps to consider before, during and at the end of each interpretation session were foregrounded. Lastly, a focus group discussion on the complexities of ICU cases and their attending issues was conducted. Targeted support was further provided in response to participant feedback and specific issues raised. Conclusion: As a testament to its efficacy, the program has since been extended to the general wards and the Ministry of Health in Singapore has further commissioned similar programs in various hospitals. In-depth training on the fundamentals of medical terminology, language and cultural competency should be provided to all pertinent healthcare workers and hospitals should consider hiring medical interpreters in permanent positions.


2021 ◽  

More than 150 million international migrant workers and an unknown number of internal migrant workers toil across the globe. More than workplace exposures affect migrant worker health; their health is also affected by exposures in the sociocultural milieu from which they came and in which they currently live. Although some of these migrant workers include professionals in high-status occupations such as doctors, nurses, engineers, and computer scientists, most are low skill workers employed in the most dangerous jobs in the most hazardous industries. The health of these migrant workers has been a long-term concern in public health, and this concern has increased with the rise of greater globalization, the recent growth of displaced and refugee populations that will need to enter the workforce in their new host countries, and the anticipated effects of climate change. The domain of migrant worker health is expansive, and is necessarily limited in this bibliography. This bibliography focuses on workers and not the family members who may accompany them, although other family members also may be workers. It focuses on low-skill migrant workers, rather than on professionals who migrate for work. Low-skill migrant workers are the individuals for whom health and public health are concerns. Additionally, research on the health of migrant professional workers is scant. At the same time, this bibliography attempts to place migrant worker health in a holistic context; because migrant worker health is affected by more than workplace exposures, the bibliography addresses exposures in their current sociocultural milieu. This bibliography has three major sections. The first section summarizes general resources that provide information on migrant workers, including International Agencies, Nongovernmental Organizations, Data Sources, Reference Works, and Journals. The second section addresses the characteristics of migrant workers that affect their health, including their Personal Characteristics, the Circumstances of Migration, Forced Migration, Industries which employ migrant workers, and 3-D Jobs: Dangerous, Dirty, and Demanding. The final section considers the health status of migrant workers, with discussions of Conceptual Frameworks for understanding migrant worker health, Work Organization Exposures, Environmental Exposures, Sociocultural Exposures, Health Conditions, Approaches to Improve Migrant Worker Health, and Policy/Regulations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 2411-2415
Author(s):  
Milind Abhimanyu Nisargandha ◽  
Shweta Dadarao Parwe

Migrant workers are a valuable community for developing the Indian economy; adverse effect occurs on their mental and physical health during this pandemic situation. The coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic emerged in India due to spread nationwide from China, Wuhan city, and then Spread overall, 213 Countries and Territories worldwide have been reported. The Indian Government immediately set up a lockdown and quarantined the patients in the hospital and declared that area as a contentment Zone to avoid infection transmission. In this pandemic situation, many labour workers were living with their families in metropolitan cities. The urgent demand for public transport in the migrant workers from different states in India. For reaching them to the native place. These lead to spreading the coronavirus infection and increase the cases of nCOVID-19. It concluded that public health services and transportation for the migrant worker to reach the native place from all states. A maximum number of trains were needed, rather than travel restriction aware of them regarding wearing of Mask, Handwashing, and Quarantine after travelled. It has been six months since COVID -19; many questions remain unanswered about the coronavirus and its pathology. It was clear by global authorities that countries need to plan and increase health clear awareness and facilities for the migrant workers. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asnu Fayakun Arohmi

This research examines the legal protection provided for illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia and the obstacles to perform it. Malaysia are the largest number compared to another country in Asia in receiving migrant workers from Indonesia. In total there are 73.178 migrant workers. A large number of Indonesian migrant workers is caused by the lack of jobs vacancy in the country, so citizens look for a job abroad. The requirements to become Indonesian migrant workers are not easy, therefore many of them went abroad illegally. Illegal Indonesian workers often get inhuman treatment. Indonesian goverment should protect every citizen, even though they are illegal workers, since they are still Indonesian citizen. This paper is based on normative-empirical legal research with the data obtained from interviews, as well as from secondary sources provided in laws governing these matters, journals or from trusted sites of internet. The results of this study show that: first, the Law No. 18 of 2017 on Protection of Migrant Worker does not differentiate the protection for illegal and legal Indonesian migrant workers. Second, there are two obstacles faced by the Indonesian government: lack of data regarding the illegal Indonesian workers and lack of state budget to handle the protection of illegal Indonesian workers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 334
Author(s):  
Lelisari Lelisari ◽  
Imawanto Imawanto ◽  
Hamdi Hamdi

ABSTRAKUndang-Undang  No 18 tahun 2017 Tentang Pelindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia (PMI) sangat penting dalam melindungi para PMI yang akan bekerja di Luar negeri. Dimana kita ketahui bahwa mayoritas pekerja migran berasal dari desa, namun selama ini desa nyaris tidak dilibatkan dalam pelindungan calon dan mantan pekerja migran. Padahal untuk memutuskan menjadi pekerja migran dibutuhkan kecukupan informasi dari sumber yang dapat dipertanggungjawabkan. Sejak adanya UU No 18 Tahun 2017, desa berperan dalam melindungi PMI dan keluarganya. Kegiatan pengabdian ini bertujuan memberikan pemahaman dan pengetahuan terhadap masyarakat desa Bonjeruk  dan aparat desa tentang pentingnya perlindungan terhadap PMI. Metode yang digunakan adalah sosialisasi Undang-Undang No 18 Tahun 2017 Tentang Pelindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia. Adapun perwakilan yang hadir dalam kegiatan ini adalah aparat desa, Kepala Dusun, calon PMI, mantan PMI, Tokoh Pemuda. Hasil dari kegiatan ini adalah aparat desa dan masyarakat mengetahui dan mendapatkan informasi yang jelas tentang  aturan yang baru mengenai perlindungan pekerja migran Indonesia. Kata kunci: sosialisasi; PMI; perlindungan. ABSTRACTLaw No. 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) is very important in protecting PMIs who will work abroad. Where we know that the majority of migrant workers come from villages, but so far the village has barely been involved in protecting prospective and former migrant workers. In fact, to decide to become a migrant worker requires sufficient information from an accountable source. Since the existence of Law No. 18 of 2017, villages have played a role in protecting PMI and their families. This service activity aims to provide understanding and knowledge to the Bonjeruk village community and village officials about the importance of protecting PMI. The method used is the socialization of Law No. 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers. The representatives who attended this activity were village officials, hamlet heads, PMI candidates, former PMIs, youth leaders. The result of this activity is that village officials and the community know and get clear information about the new regulations regarding the protection of Indonesian migrant workers. Keywords: socialization; PMI; protection. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Aini ◽  
Avina Cahyaning Wahyu ◽  
Zaqqi Ubaidillah

Working as a female migrant worker has a positive and negative impact. Negative impacts include children who are left without love, this will cause children to experience intellectual, emotional and moral social problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in emotional intelligence of teenagers with the employment status of mothers as migrant workers and non-migrant workers. Method used comparative descriptive research design with cross sectional approach. Sample was 31 teenagers with mothers of migrant workers and 30 teenagers with non-migrant mothers was taken by purposive sampling technique. The study was conducted at Nurul Huda and Mambaul Ulum Islamic junior high school, and also junior high public school 1 Bantur in September 2017. The dependent variable was emotional intelligence, measured by the TEIQue-ASF questionnaire (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Adolescent Short Form). Data analyzed by independent t test. The average value of emotional intelligence in teenager with mothers of migrant worker is 129.03, in teenager with non migrant workers is 141.53. P value (0.005) < α (0.05), meaning that there are differences in emotional intelligence in both teenagers, where in teenager with non migrant worker their emotional intelligence is higher. Parental attachments, especially mothers can influence emotional response patterns, so this will affect emotional intelligence. It is recommended to the school to monitor emotional intelligence, because it can have an impact on their social behavior and conduct direction to surrogate family members who work as migrant workers about how to educate children in their teens. Keywords : Emotional Quotient, teenager, Mother Migrant Workers, Mother Non Migrant Workers


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document