Singapore’s migrant workers: help victims of abuse and exploitation get just compensation

Justice Without Borders: making justice for migrant workers a reality at home and abroad.

As expats, many of us are fortunate to live a very privileged life here in Singapore. In fact, many of us stay because of how much easier our lives are than what they would be in our home countries. It’s true that we do not have the support of our families and the friends that we may have left behind, but what we do have access to is the opportunity to employ live-in help to carry out the cooking, cleaning and often the child care. ​

There are currently 237,100 female domestic workers in Singapore.

The majority of people in Singapore who employ foreign domestic workers - mostly women who have often left their own families, including children, behind to earn money - treat their employees as equals. We remunerate them well and make sure that they have at least the basic human rights of food, periods of continuous rest and a safe shelter. Sadly, many do not. In some cases, these women, from countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar, are treated as subservient, do not receive adequate breaks, have their salaries and even meals withheld, and are abused emotionally, physically and sexually. In 2015, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) received 102 reports of physical abuse, and in one HOME survey 35% of respondents claimed some form of economic abuse, like having salaries withheld, and 40% said that they have less than one weekly rest day.

Male migrant workers are victims too.

According to Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), a non-profit organisation in Singapore dedicated to improving conditions for low-wage migrant workers, only one third of male migrant workers are paid correctly and receive a detailed payslip to check their wages. One third think that they are paid correctly, but have no way to check, and one third are not paid the full wages that they have earned. These men come to Singapore from countries like People’s Republic of China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and typically work in construction or the shipyards to earn money for the families that they left behind. Many face hefty agency fees, deportation if they lodge a complaint, emotional distress, and often go home poorer than what they were in the first place.

Getting just compensation

UN agency International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that US$8 billion is stolen from domestic workers and US$ 34 billion from construction, manufacturing, mining and utilities in Asia alone. Furthermore, many exploited workers are unable to claim compensation for their abuses, because they have to return to their home countries, have no further access to the legal support that they so desperately need, and give up. When this happens the legal case is simply dropped.

Justice Without Borders (JWB) helps victims of labour exploitation and human trafficking to get just compensation. The non profit organisation works in partnership with local support organisations, law students, lawyers, and legal aid associations to build cross-border networks to help empower victims of exploitation and make sure that they can access legal aid wherever they are so that they can pursue legal remedies. In 2015, JWB worked with local support organisations, including HOME, to examine more than 180 cases to identify viable claims for migrant workers.

Your public relations skills can help vulnerable men and women

If you have professional public relations experience, are familiar with social media tools, are native or fluent in English, and can volunteer at least five to ten hours a week, then you too can help make a difference to the lives of exploited migrant workers by joining JWB.  

As Public Relations Volunteer, you would be working with the Executive Director and the International Board of Directors to:

• develop an effective communications strategy for JWB.
• increase public awareness of JWB.
• publicise events and activities.
• maintain JWB’s website and social media, and publish the quarterly newsletter.

With your help, Justice Without Borders can make sure that more victims of exploitation and abuse who must go home do not have to go without, and that those who abuse them can no longer do so with impunity.        

For more information, please go to Expatgiving. 

Author

Emma Nobes