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Migrant domestic workers in S’pore to have one mandatory monthly day off starting end of 2022: MOM

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In a move that is slated to take effect at the end of next year, employers of migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Singapore will be required to provide their helpers with one mandatory day off each month.

This is part of several of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s new initiatives to “strengthen support” received by MDWs in the country, said the ministry on Thursday (22 July).

The compulsory rest day, which MOM said “cannot be compensated away”, will “provide more opportunities for MDWs to form a network of support outside the household, as well as rest and recharge from work”, said MOM.

Touching on why the policy will take effect in end-2022, MOM said that it is aware that “some employers may need time to adjust to the new rest day arrangements”.

Other measures include:

  • Enhancing the six-monthly medical examination (6ME) for MDWs; and
  • Requiring doctors to record MDWs’ body-mass index and check for signs of suspicious and unexplained injuries.

They will need to submit these records to MOM for follow up if necessary, said the ministry.

This enhanced process will be implemented by the third quarter of this year.

Employment agencies will also be required to conduct post-placement checks to ensure that MDWs and employers are adjusting well, and offer support if needed, said MOM.

This will be implemented in the fourth quarter of this year.

The number of in-person interviews with MDWs will also be increased from once to twice in their first year of work, said MOM.

“This will provide MDWs and their employers with more opportunities to raise and resolve issues, and settle into their working relationship.

“This builds upon the earlier announced expansion of such interviews to cover all first-time MDWs by the end of this year,” said the Ministry.

To facilitate these in-person interviews, MOM said that it will set up three neighbourhood centres in partnership with the Centre for Domestic Employees, a government-linked non-government organisation.

The first neighbourhood centre is targeted to be operational by the first quarter of 2022, said the ministry.

MOM added that it will share more details on the various initiatives in due course.

Social worker Jolovan Wham, whose work also entails advocating for the rights of MDWs in Singapore, said on Thursday that the new one compulsory monthly day off policy is “pathetic”, given the nearly two decades of activists campaigning for such rights to be implemented.

However, he conceded that “in Singapore, we must be happy for any crumbs which are thrown our way”.

“Whatever gladness and relief I feel for this latest development is diminished by the thought that it took the death of poor Piang Ngaih Don for the government to finally concede that rest days, the most basic of basic labour rights, need to be ensured for workers,” said Mr Wham.

40-year-old Gaiyathiri Murugayan, the wife of Ms Piang’s employer, admitted to 28 charges including culpable homicide, voluntarily causing grievous hurt by starvation and wrongful restraint against the Myanmar national.

Shocking footage of Ms Piang’s ordeal — which was played in court — was captured by CCTVs installed around the flat by Gaiyathiri and her policeman husband, Kevin Chelvam to monitor the domestic worker and their two children.

Chelvam is Ms Piang’s first, last and only employer in Singapore. Her employment lasted for 10 months.

Charges are pending against Chelvam, who has been suspended from the police force, as well as Gaiyathiri’s mother, 61-year-old Prema Naraynasamy.

The High Court on 22 June sentenced Gaiyathiri to 30 years of jail.

Gaiyathiri in February admitted to 28 charges including culpable homicide, voluntarily causing grievous hurt by starvation, and wrongful restraint against then-24-year-old Ms Piang, who was under her employment for 10 months.

Ms Piang weighed only 24kg when she passed away on 26 July 2016. Autopsy results revealed that she sustained 31 recent scars and 47 external injuries.

Gaiyathiri was initially charged with murder, but due to mitigating factors related to her mental disorders such as major depressive disorder, the charge was reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

In deciding on the 30-year jail term, Justice See took into consideration another 87 similar charges based on abusive acts committed over two months.

MOM had previously released a statement on 24 February, stating that Chelvam had employed four other migrant domestic workers before hiring Ms Piang, but had not received any complaints or “adverse feedback” from the workers about Chelvam or his family.

Ms Piang began working for Chelvam’s family on 28 May 2015.

The Ministry added that Ms Piang attended and passed her six-monthly medical examination on 19 January 2016.

She visited the same doctor in May 2016 for a runny nose, cough and swelling on her legs, but MOM said that “nothing adverse was flagged to the authorities’ attention on either occasion”.

According to court documents, the clinic was identified as Bishan Grace Clinic, as reported by CNA.

It was said that two months before Ms Piang’s death, the doctor had noticed bruises around her eye sockets and cheeks, but Gaiyathiri claimed that the helper was clumsy and fell down frequently.

The doctor had suggested further tests on Ms Piang’s swollen legs in case of underlying conditions, but Gaiyathiri rejected his suggestions.

Commenting on this, then-Manpower Minister Josephine Teo told the media that MOM is reviewing how doctors report these medical examinations, highlighting that most employers comply with the requirement of having their workers to attend such check-ups.

“Doctors also have a duty to report to the police or MOM if they are detecting signs of abuse or distress. We have made this point explicit in 2017, and we will have to further strengthen this,” said Mrs Teo.

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Labour

19 workplace fatalities in first half of 2024, MOM reports

Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health report, issued on 9 October, revealed 19 workplace fatalities in the first half of 2024, up from 14 in 2023. Vehicular incidents were the leading cause, followed by falls from heights and equipment breakdowns. With five more deaths reported by September, the total fatalities for 2024 have reached at least 24. In comparison, 36 deaths were recorded in 2023.

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7 hours ago

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9 October 2024

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SINGAPORE: Nineteen workers died from workplace injuries in the first half of 2024, an increase from 14 fatalities during the same period in 2023, according to Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) performance report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (9 October).

Vehicular incidents were the leading cause of death, followed by falls from a height and the collapse or breakdown of structures and equipment.

These causes accounted for 11 of the fatalities – 58 per cent of the total deaths.

The construction, marine, transportation and storage, and manufacturing industries were responsible for 63 per cent of the 19 fatalities.

In the construction sector alone, five workers lost their lives, down from seven fatalities in the first half of 2023 and 11 in the second half of that year.

The marine industry saw four deaths in the first six months of 2024, despite no fatalities being recorded in 2023.

The transportation and storage sector had two fatalities, down from five in the same period last year. One fatality occurred in the manufacturing sector, mirroring the number from the first half of 2023.

In the water supply, sewerage, and waste management sector, three workers died, including two who inhaled poisonous fumes while cleaning tanks at PUB’s Choa Chu Kang Waterworks. There were no fatalities in this sector in 2023.

As of September 2024, five more deaths were reported, bringing the total workplace fatalities for the year to at least 24.

In comparison, 36 deaths were recorded in 2023.

The most recent workplace fatality occurred on 29 September, when a 44-year-old Bangladeshi worker tragically lost his life in an accident at a construction site within Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

The worker was fatally struck by a collapsing steel structure during lifting operations.

Two workers tragically lost their lives on 17 September following a heavy machinery accident at a North-South Corridor construction site along Lentor Avenue.

The incident occurred while a group of workers was assembling a winch drum on two concrete blocks. The winch slipped, causing injuries to four workers.

Singapore’s Workplace Fatality Rate Rises Slightly, Now Fifth Among OECD Countries

The latest WSH report noted that Singapore’s workplace fatality rate from January to June 2024 was one death per 100,000 workers, slightly up from 0.8 in the first half of 2023 and 0.99 in the latter half of that year.

Singapore ranks fifth among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, with a three-year average of 1.1 deaths per 100,000 workers.

The Netherlands and United Kingdom lead with 0.4, followed by Sweden at 0.7 and Germany at 0.8.

Major Injuries Decline

There were 293 major injuries in the first half of 2024, down from 316 in the same period of 2023.

These injuries, which include amputations, blindness, and paralysis, predominantly occurred in the construction and manufacturing industries. The main causes were slips, trips and falls; machinery incidents; and falls from a height.

The manufacturing sector saw a significant 35 per cent reduction in fatalities and major injuries, with 60 incidents recorded in the first half of 2024 compared to 92 in the same period last year.

The number of fatal and major injuries from metalworking also fell sharply, from 40 in 2023 to 22 in 2024.

In the construction sector, fatalities and major injuries from smaller-scale works, such as renovations, decreased by 22 per cent, from 59 in 2023 to 46 in 2024.

Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad attributed these improvements to the expanded demerit point system and increased surveillance.

The system, introduced to the manufacturing sector in October 2023 after years of use in construction, penalises companies for safety violations, potentially barring them from hiring foreign workers for up to two years.

Minor Injuries and Occupational Diseases

In the first half of 2024, there were 10,379 minor injuries, a 4.8 per cent reduction from 10,897 in the same period of 2023.

Slips, trips, falls, and machinery incidents were the leading causes. Meanwhile, the number of occupational diseases continued to drop, with 473 cases reported, down from 653 in 2023.

MOM also reported 11 dangerous occurrences in the first half of 2024, fewer than the 12 in the same period last year. These incidents included the collapse of structures and equipment, as well as fires and explosions.

MOM conducted over 3,000 inspections in various industries and took enforcement actions against more than 7,000 breaches, issuing 717 fines totalling more than $1.4 million and 22 stop-work orders.

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Singapore’s Manpower Ministry engages Dyson over last-minute layoff notice to union

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has engaged with Dyson following the company’s one-day notice to a labour union regarding retrenchments. MOM emphasised the importance of early notification to unions as per the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower. It noted that while Dyson is unionised, the retrenched professionals, managers, and executives (PMEs) are not covered by the union’s collective representation.

Published

6 days ago

on

3 October 2024

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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has initiated talks with Dyson after the company gave just one day’s notice to a labour union about a retrenchment exercise.

The United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) had earlier requested a conciliation session to address the issue.

According to MOM’s statement on 3 October, the ministry met with Dyson on 2 October and plans to meet with the UWEEI to facilitate an amicable solution.

The dispute arose after UWEEI’s executive secretary, Patrick Tay, voiced the union’s disappointment that it was notified of the retrenchment just a day before Dyson laid off an unspecified number of workers on 1 October.

Tay expressed concern that the short notice did not allow enough time for discussions to ensure a fair and progressive retrenchment process.

He also highlighted that more time would have enabled better support for the affected employees.

According to MOM, under the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, unionised companies should give unions early notice when informing employees of retrenchments.

However, while Dyson is unionised, the professionals, managers, and executives (PMEs) who were laid off are not covered by the union’s collective representation.

“Hence the period of notice to inform UWEEI is negotiable,” MOM said.

However, MOM acknowledged that insufficient notice was given in this instance and stated its intent to work with both parties to improve communication going forward.

The Ministry also emphasised that the formula for calculating retrenchment benefits for PMEs does not necessarily have to follow the same criteria applied to rank-and-file workers.

The specific terms of such benefits are subject to negotiation between the union and the company, a position that has been agreed upon within Singapore’s tripartite framework.

MOM reaffirmed that it would mediate the issue if needed.

In its 3 October statement, MOM reiterated Singapore’s commitment to supporting businesses like Dyson that choose to invest in the country.

“We will work with these companies, economic agencies and NTUC to ensure that we remain both pro-worker and pro-growth.”

Mr Tay, who is also a Member of Parliament from ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), in an video message posted on UWEEI’s official Facebook page, urged Dyson executives affected by the retrenchment to seek assistance from the union in ensuring that their benefits are fair.

However, he noted that Dyson has not shared crucial details, such as the job levels of those impacted, which complicates the union’s efforts.

Tay explained that some affected workers had been instructed to keep their retrenchment packages confidential or risk losing them, further adding to the union’s concerns.

Although the union believes the package aligns with UWEEI’s standard of one month’s salary per year of service, Tay stated that uncertainty remains over whether the package is capped.

“That is why we are concerned that we have not received more information from Dyson on who the affected workers are or their job levels as Section 30A of the Industrial Relations Act also allows UWEEI to represent executives individually on retrenchment benefits.”

In response to the ongoing situation, UWEEI has established a task force to provide guidance to the retrenched employees, particularly in terms of job searches.

Tay also issued a public call for Dyson employees, especially PMEs, to join UWEEI so the union could better support them during such retrenchment exercises.

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