By Rochelle Jones

Predominately from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, migrant workers in Singapore have left their homes and all that they know to seek a more fruitful economic situation for themselves and their families. Being a wealthy business hub in Asia, there is plenty of available domestic work in Singapore – one in six families hire a domestic worker[1] - and plenty of poorly monitored recruitment agencies eager to take a slice of the worker’s salary.

All over the world, migrant workers are exploited, but the fact that domestic work takes place in the private sphere is what makes domestic workers particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. A study conducted by the Domestic Workers Union in India revealed that 70% of domestic workers are hired because their employers need time to earn extra money. “In other words, they are a crucial cog in the economic wheel, allowing many homes to earn an additional income. Yet, they remain poorly paid and face multiple discriminations.”[2] Child labour and exploitation of the girl child is of particular concern.

A comprehensive report[3] published in 2005 by Human Rights Watch (HRW) outlined the working conditions for domestic workers in Singapore: “Between 1999 and 2005, at least 147 migrant domestic workers died from workplace accidents or suicide, most by jumping or falling from residential buildings. There is no single reason why domestic workers resort to suicide, but research by Human Rights Watch suggests that many women are made despondent by poor working conditions, anxiety about debts owed to employment agencies, social isolation, and prolonged confinement indoors, sometimes for weeks at a time… In many cases, migrant domestic workers in Singapore work thirteen to nineteen hours a day, seven days a week, and are restricted from leaving the workplace. They typically earn less than half the pay that workers earn in similar occupations in Singapore - such as gardening and cleaning - and are forced to relinquish the first four to ten months of their salaries to repay employment agency fees. In the worst cases, manipulated by agents or employers or both, migrant domestic workers suffer under conditions amounting to forced labour”

Awareness of the exploitation and abuse of domestic workers has grown, but “domestic workers, at risk of rights violations during recruitment, placement and employment, are often in situations that prevent them from reporting abuses”. [4] The issue is also multilayered – it is not just a matter of legislation and prosecution. According to HRW, some of the factors contributing to the complexity of the issue are “the lack of reporting mechanisms, the private nature of work, the lack of legal protections, and restrictions on freedom of movement of domestic workers”.[5] One of the biggest concerns has been getting governments to respond to the factors contributing to the abuse of domestic workers all at once rather than in a piecemeal way.

Singapore has appeared on the radar recently because of the ‘Day Off’[6] initiative organised by the National Committee of UNIFEM Singapore, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2). The public education campaign encourages employers in Singapore to voluntarily give their domestic worker a day off, and is aimed at Singapore’s Employment Act that excludes domestic workers but guarantees other workers a day off per week.

The campaign highlights how difficult life can be for a domestic worker in Singapore. With no protection under the law, they are effectively bound to the goodwill of their employers, and whilst there are employers that treat their workers well, many domestic workers report excessive work hours without regular rest breaks, restrictions on freedom of movement, unpaid wages, and in some cases, physical abuse.

The Singapore government has prosecuted some employers who physically abuse domestic workers and imposed penalties on labor recruitment agencies for unethical practices. The government has failed, however, to regulate exploitative recruitment charges. Many domestic workers must work for months just to pay off recruitment debts, making it difficult for them to leave abusive employers[7]. According to the group TWC2: “In 2000, a domestic worker was able to repay the 'loan' to her employers with the first six months of her salary, but today, the repayment term has grown to 8-10 months. That makes a big hole in the workers' earnings from a first two-year contract term: at least one third of her salary is lost before her family sees a cent of it.” [8]

The Ministry of Manpower has recently introduced new work permit conditions to prevent employers from transferring various costs to their domestic workers. They came into effect on 14 July 2008.[9] These steps in the right direction are heartening, but not enough to secure domestic workers their rights. When questioned, the Minister of Manpower in Singapore claimed that “there is no need 'at this point' to legislate a mandatory rest day, but... that the Ministry of Manpower 'encourages employers to grant rest days regularly wherever possible.'[10]

HRW recommends ‘developing mass public information campaigns to educate domestic workers, labour recruiters, and employers about domestic workers’ rights and the penalties for committing abuse; strengthening labour protections for domestic workers and enforcement; extending equal protection of the labour laws to domestic workers, including rights to a just wage, overtime pay, weekly rest days, benefits, and workers’ compensation; and developing protocols and training police officers on how to respond appropriately to domestic workers’ complaints.’[11] For now, the year-long ‘Day Off’ campaign provides essential advocacy for the rights of domestic workers in Singapore.

[1]http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11709

[2]http://youngfeminists.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/of-need-and-exploitation/

[3] Human Rights Watch. 2005. ‘Maid to Order: Ending Abuses Against Domestic Workers in Singapore.’ http://hrw.org/reports/2005/singapore1205/

[4] Human Rights Watch. 2006. ‘Swept Under the Rug.’ http://hrw.org/reports/2006/wrd0706/1.htm#_Toc139175314

[5] Ibid Note 4.

[6] Read more about the ‘Day Off’ Campaign at: http://www.dayoff.sg/

[7] Human Rights Watch. World Report 2008. http://hrw.org/englishwr2k8/docs/2008/01/31/singap17616.htm

[8] Transient Workers Count Too. ‘Migrant Workers Pay Out to Work Abroad’. 14 July 2008. http://www.twc2.org.sg/site/migrants-in-the-news/migrant-workers-pay-out-to-work-abroad.html

[9] Ibid Note 8.

[10] Transient Workers Count Too. ‘Minister’s Response on Day Off’. June 5, 2008. http://www.twc2.org.sg/site/press-releases/day-off-for-domestic-workers-ministers-response-to-ques.html

[11] For a full list of recommendations, see Human Rights Watch. 2006. ‘Swept Under the Rug.’ http://hrw.org/reports/2006/wrd0706/1.htm#_Toc139175314