Drivers of migration policy reform: The day off policy for migrant domestic workers in Singapore

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiu Yee Koh ◽  
Charmian Goh ◽  
Kellynn Wee ◽  
Brenda SA Yeoh
Keyword(s):  
Policy Reform ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Migration Policies ◽  
Migrant Domestic Workers

While there has been much debate on Singapore’s migration policies, a ‘black box’ continues to surround policymaking decisions. This article examines the dynamics of migration policy reforms in Singapore, using the case study of the mandatory weekly day off policy for migrant domestic workers. Designing our analysis around the three ‘Is’ – ideas, interests and institutions – we argue that the inclusion and formalisation of migrant rights in the policy sphere entails the framing of migrant rights in a manner that appeals to Singapore’s institutional logics and cultural repertoire; prioritising the needs and interests of citizens in the policy calculus; and institutional readiness and conviction to the cause.

scholarly journals Women and their Journey to Self-Empowerment: A Case Study of Six Indonesian Female Migrant Domestic Workers

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Safira Prabawidya Pusparani ◽  
Ani Widyani Soetjipto
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Migration Process ◽  
Migration Decisions ◽  
Female Migrant ◽  
Migrant Domestic Workers

<p>In Indonesia, female migrant domestic workers’ representations tend to contain negative meanings. Although they are named as “heroes of development”, but their position is nothing more than a commodity for the country. Such treatment makes female migrant domestic workers becomes vulnerable to violence and exploitation by employers, agents, andgovernment staff. Nevertheless, there is an alternative narrative that is rarely highlighted in literature or media, namely the representation of female migrant domestic workers as powerful actors. This paper seeks to fill in that alternative narrative by highlighting the agencies did by these six female migrant domestic workers. The author believes that by using the standpoint feminism perspective to analyze the struggle of these six female migrant domestic workers in empowering themselves after the oppression, it can be seen that agency has been manifested by female migrant domestic workers during the migration process. This study reveals the efforts of female migrant domestic workers to manifest their empowerment through migration decisions in the middle of patriarchal structures, their ability to resist structures with activism, and become agents of development and change for their communities.</p>

Migrant domestic workers and the right to a private and family life

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 288-310
Author(s):  
Natalie Sedacca
Keyword(s):  
Family Life ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Private Sphere ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Labour Legislation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right ◽  
Migrant Domestic Workers

Domestic workers are mainly women, are disproportionately from ethnic minorities and/or international migrants, and are vulnerable to mistreatment, often receiving inadequate protection from labour legislation. This article addresses ways in which the conditions faced by migrant domestic workers can prevent their enjoyment of the right to private and family life. It argues that the focus on this right is illuminating as it allows for the incorporation of issues that are not usually within the remit of labour law into the discussion of working rights, such as access to family reunification, as well as providing for a different perspective on the question of limits on working time – a core labour right that is often denied to domestic workers. These issues are analysed by addressing a case study each from Latin America and Europe, namely Chile and the UK. The article considers impediments to realising the right to private and family life stemming both from the literal border – the operation of immigration controls and visa conditions – and from the figurative border which exists between domestic work and other types of work, reflected in the conflation of domestic workers with family members and stemming from the public/private sphere divide.

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