By Jolovan Wham (HOME) –

It was close to midnight when I received a call for help from a mainland Chinese woman (let's calll her Lily) who works in a KTV lounge along Jalan Besar Road. Her hand phone had been forcibly taken by her employer and she was being threatened. She was afraid that she might be harmed because her ex colleague was beaten up and sent back to China for arguing with the employer. I called the police and went down to find out what was happening.

The employer claimed that she was kicking up a fuss out of nothing and explained that he was merely ‘safe keeping’ her hand phone because singers are not allowed to carry them while they are at work. When I replied that she was old enough to keep her own hand phone, he sneered at me and said it was ‘none of my business’. Thankfully, the presence of the police prevented the situation from turning ugly and the hand phone was promptly returned after she was interviewed by them.

My subsequent conversations with Lily revealed the following details about her predicament:

1) She had come into Singapore as a singer but told us she was subjected to indirect pressure by her employer to have sexual relations with the club’s customers through financial penalties. This usually happens if she is unable to meet the club’s targets for the number of garlands she is supposed to ‘sell’ to customers. What happens in many of these KTV clubs is that customers will purchase garlands to hang around the necks of the women they like who are performing on stage. Each garland may cost up to $500. Her salary is based on the number of garlands she is able to sell. If the customer does not pay up, her bosses will tell her to ‘do what it takes’ to get money out of them. If she does not bring in enough money, her pay will be docked. Her passport is also withheld by the employer.

3) She has to work 7 days a week and only allowed one day off a month. In the event that more leave is taken, a fine is imposed. This rule also applies when they fall sick and request medical leave. When they are sick, they are still required to report for work but they are ‘allowed’ to rest in a room in the club premises.

4) Her salary for July 2012, and August has not been paid. A ‘security deposit’ of $500 withheld every month for six months is also unpaid. Her salary has also been subject to arbitrary deductions for fines imposed by the employer for mistakes made at work, or for not performing up to standard. The company keeps all salary records and she has no access to them. She is unable to ‘prove’ that she has not been paid properly because her salary is given in cash and she is not given any acknowledgement slips or salary vouchers.

When a volunteer brought her to the Ministry of Manpower, she was informed by the officer that there was little they could do except to assist her to claim her salary and retrieve her passport. This was despite the fact that I had written a letter describing the situation in detail to alert the officer in charge that they may have a trafficking case on their hands.

In 2011, the Singapore government announced that they had established an inter-agency taskforce to strengthen anti human trafficking measures in Singapore. This was wonderful news for many of us in the migrant rights community and HOME, the NGO that I work for cheered this development. However, we have yet to see any substantial changes in the way exploited and trafficked migrant workers are protected. When frontline government officers are unable to identify possible trafficking cases for investigation even after they have been alerted to them, what about the many others who have approached them for assistance without a NGO worker present?

TOC thanks Jolovan for allowing us to publish this article, which first appeared as a Facebook note.

Photo courtesy: Jolovan Faceook note

You May Also Like

The aftermath of 5 days, and still taking wrong steps

By Ghui A week after the Parliamentary White Paper on population was…

Students advocate for introduction of Singapore’s own Freedom of Information Bill

A group of Singaporean students are advocating for the introduction of a…

人力部称客工自杀率没上升

针对近来客工宿舍频传企图自杀事件,人力部声称,和往年相比客工自杀率没上升,当局与非政府组织合作,为这些客工提供更好的精神支持。 人力部解释,前线保障支援小组(FAST)会积极留意这些可供是否需要辅导。根据记录,企图自杀者可能基于家庭问题、或家中有变故,加上疫情造成返国延误,而形成压力。 就在本周日,就传出双溪加株环道一座宿舍内,一名36岁客工割颈自杀,所幸获救。 7月31日,在加基武吉的The Leo宿舍曾发生客工企图跳楼事故;7月24日和22日,也个别传出中国籍客工闹跳楼事件;同样在24日,一名37岁印度籍客工身亡;5月,27岁孟加拉籍义工倒在克兰芝工厂改造宿舍内。 4月23日,还有一名46岁印度籍男子,倒卧在邱德拔医院内的楼梯口。

英兰妮为唯才是举背书 为何不谈德才兼备?

上周四(18日),总理公署部长英兰妮席由国大文学暨社会科学院社会服务研究中心主办,探讨如何援助低收入家庭。期间她表示,第四代政府领导班子的任务,是为国人在每个人生阶段创造机会,确保一个人的成就不取决于出身。 英兰妮兼任财政部及教育部第二部长。她说,不平等和社会流动问题早在1965年的“新加坡独立宣言”中就已提到。不同的是当年大家一样穷,随着经济发展,不同收入的家庭累积资源不均,大家因此关注底层孩子的起跑点会越来越落于人后,妨碍社会流动。 不过,本地中文媒体未提及英兰妮针对“唯才是举”(meritocracy)阐述的看法。本地英语媒体都有报导,英兰妮为唯才是举制背书,认为重新审视唯才是举制不是正确的做法。 记者节译刊载于《海峡时报》的英兰妮致辞稿,在演讲中英兰妮指出,唯才是举根据个人表现能力委任职务,能遏制贪腐和裙带关系,如果废除掉唯才是举制度,就等同邀请那些弊端腐蚀国家的体制。 “每个人都想达成最佳成就” “哪个父母不想孩子成龙成凤?学生们也有自己的理想抱负。每一代人都希望能达致最佳的成就,阻止他们是不对的。” 英兰妮辩护,问题的关键并不是唯才是举制,而是虽然国家和政府已经尽力提供平等机会,但是来自低收入和弱势背景的群体,仍难以跻身获得这些机会。 “所以,我们的方针不应该是为往上爬设顶限;要缩减鸿沟让大家可以一起向上,应改善那些较弱势一群的机遇、提供充分的机会。让唯才是举制发挥作用。” 她补充,与此同时也需要有多元管道来追求事业和成就,确保持续的社会流动。“有些人脚步较快,有些较慢;有者可能走相似的道路,有者走较少走的小径。在他们自身的努力,如果需要政府或他人的支持下,大家最终都能取得好的结果–当然不一定是同样的成果。” 所以,政府的措施是双重的,英兰妮强调政府一方面继续加强对少数群体的支持,其次则继续建设在每个人生阶段“充满机遇的社会”。 政治精英对唯才是举制爱不释手 新加坡的政治精英始终舍不得唯才是举制。有多少年来,我们奉唯才是举之名,精英群体都被被行销成有才干、有智慧、有表现绩效的精英,因为他们闪亮的奖学金、受过英语教育、世家背景和一大串的奖项和(军事)资历,就更容易被纳入精英圈子中。…