It was reported that 21 migrant workers staying at Joylicious dormitory were allegedly locked inside of their own room after a fellow colleague was tested positive for the deadly COVID-19.
This news came to light after migrant labour’s rights non-profit organisation Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) highlighted the incident on its official Facebook page.
The organisation said that the dorm is believed to be located at Tuas Avenue 10 and is managed by Joylicious Management Pte Ltd, which is not part of the licensed dormitory operators listed by the Ministry of Manpower.
It stated that a Chinese worker was “taken away on 17 April with COVID-19” and ever since then, the remaining 21 workers have been forced to stay inside their room as the door is locked from the outside.
“From a dorm called “Joylicious”, we got a distress call. A Chinese worker was taken away on 17 April with COVID-19. Since then the remaining 21 workers have been locked inside their room,” it said.
It also added that if any one of the migrant workers want to use the toilet or need to shower, they will have to ask the security guard to open the door for them. Unfortunately, the guards could some time take up to 30 minutes to respond.
“Workers wanting to go to toilet/shower are asked to call security guards who will come to unlock the door, but the guards can take up to 30 minutes to show up,” TWC2 noted.
Based on this situation, the non-profit organisation said that this is “unacceptable and dangerous” way to try and curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
“What is a fire breaks out in the block? How will the 21 men escape?” it asked.
TWC2 also said that the workers shared two videos with them and it can be seen that the door is locked as well as the crammed condition of the room with all these men in it.
“Workers shared two videos. One shows a man trying to open the door, but it is locked. The other shows the crowded conditions in the room,” it stated.
TWC2 pointed out that it had contacted the authorities and their related organisation in regards to the matter. In the comment section of the post, the organisation updated that all the men have since been shifted to another floor in the premise where they have more space to move around.
