• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Vague employment laws and policies lead to abuse of domestic workers, says HOME report

by kathleen
16/01/2019
in Labour
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

Stephanie Chok presenting the newly published report by HOME at its office.

While the Singapore government emphasises that Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) are covered by the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA), the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) and Liberty Shared claim that the ambiguous language of the EFMA is insufficient to effectively protect MDWs or preserve their rights.

Their report on Forced Labour in Singapore – co-published by anti-human trafficking organisation Liberty Shared – states that the ambiguous language of the EFMA leaves MDWs vulnerable to abuse and impacts their welfare.

One example provided in the report is that MDWs are not protected by legal limits on working hours as the EFMA only stipulates that MDWs should have ‘adequate rest’. This lack of specificity, add HOME, enables employers to pressure MDWs to work gruelling hours – between 16 to 18 hours a day, an in one case even 20 hours a day.

The ambiguity in the EFMA negatively impacts the welfare of MDWs. Presently the EFMA requires employers to provide ‘acceptable’ accommodation, ‘adequate’ food, ‘adequate’ rest, and ‘reasonable’ notice of repatriation. HOME notes that the lack of specificity means that the wellbeing and working conditions of MDWs are largely dependent on the whims of their employers and their interpretation of these regulations.

As such, HOME has set out some recommendations in order to strengthen the legislative protection granted to MDWs, including granting basic employment rights as well as greater specificity in law on particular practices and forms of abuse.

One recommendation is to extend the Extend the Employment Act to cover MDWs so that the basic labour rights such as working hours, sick leave, limits on overtime and notice periods, among others are better regulated. HOME argues that the EFMA only offers a limited set of protections and entitlements which are not equal to those provided for under the EA. Moreover, purrent provisions under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act are too vaguely worded to offer reliable protection, thus thus leaving MDWs highly vulnerable to abuse.

Another recommendations is for Singapore to Ratify the 2014 Protocol on Forced Labour whch is an International Labour Organisation (ILO) fundamental convention also known as the Convention Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, 1930. HOME calls for Singapore to work towards applying the recommendations set out in the 2016 Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation which they say is one way for Singapore to make any progress towards the prevention and eradication of forced labour as per international benchmarks.

HOME notes that at the moment, Singapore’s Prevention of Human Trafficking Act is similarly undefined. They assert that the core concepts of the Act, including forced labour and exploitation are not aligned with international standards. As a result, victim identification and the provision of holistic support for survivors of forced labour and trafficking are inhibited.

However in response, MOM asserted that the current EFMA is adequate and already aligned with the protocoal which Singapore had ratified in 2016. The Protocol came into effect in late 2016 having been ratified by 178 out of 187 member countries.

The ministry added, “it is also important to recognise that forced labour is a complex issue. Meeting one or more of the ILO’s forced labour indicators may not necessarily mean that a worker is indeed in a forced labour situation, as each case needs to be assessed based on the facts.”

HOME clearly disagrees. In their report, they say that forced labour ‘can and does occur in ‘ordinary households’’, adding that it can be perpetuated by accepted behavioural norms by ordinary people. HOME says that forced labour often takes place in formal economies and among documented workers with legal status who participate in highly regularised migration regimes. That is why a more robust recognition of exploitation and coercion of MDWs is a necessary starting point in dealing with forced labour.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Singapore warns slower economic growth in 2023
Labour

Less than 1 in 10 jobs created in first three quarters of 2022 went to Singaporeans?

28/01/2023
Peru Congress rejects president’s plan for early elections
AFP

Peru Congress rejects president’s plan for early elections

28/01/2023
UMNO purging members as it sacks former health minister Khairy and suspended ex-defence minister Hishammuddin
Malaysia

UMNO purging members as it sacks former health minister Khairy and suspended ex-defence minister Hishammuddin

28/01/2023
WHO panel in talks on COVID emergency status
AFP

WHO panel in talks on COVID emergency status

27/01/2023
AFP

Two years after Myanmar coup, UN says situation ‘catastrophic’

27/01/2023
Grab driver supposedly earned $5,227.82 in a week prior CNY, netizens voice worries over his health
Community

Grab driver supposedly earned $5,227.82 in a week prior CNY, netizens voice worries over his health

27/01/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Singapore warns slower economic growth in 2023

Less than 1 in 10 jobs created in first three quarters of 2022 went to Singaporeans?

28/01/2023
Peru Congress rejects president’s plan for early elections

Peru Congress rejects president’s plan for early elections

28/01/2023
UMNO purging members as it sacks former health minister Khairy and suspended ex-defence minister Hishammuddin

UMNO purging members as it sacks former health minister Khairy and suspended ex-defence minister Hishammuddin

28/01/2023
WHO panel in talks on COVID emergency status

WHO panel in talks on COVID emergency status

27/01/2023

Two years after Myanmar coup, UN says situation ‘catastrophic’

27/01/2023
Grab driver supposedly earned $5,227.82 in a week prior CNY, netizens voice worries over his health

Grab driver supposedly earned $5,227.82 in a week prior CNY, netizens voice worries over his health

27/01/2023
Philippines to appeal ICC resumption of drug war probe

ICC grants new inquiry into Manila’s deadly ‘war on drugs’

27/01/2023
Minister refutes claims of Malaysia consulting Singapore on housing policy due to its inefficient civil service

Minister refutes claims of Malaysia consulting Singapore on housing policy due to its inefficient civil service

27/01/2023

Trending posts

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
40

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
28

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
56

...

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

by The Online Citizen
26/01/2023
49

...

Vague employment laws and policies lead to abuse of domestic workers, says HOME report

by kathleen
16/01/2019
0

...

January 2019
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Dec   Feb »
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
  • Contact Us

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

wpDiscuz