Covid-19 spike among migrant workers — HOME’s response

6 April 2020

HOME welcomes the new measures to address contagion in the mega commercial dormitories. But we have concerns about whether workers are being protected sufficiently and humanely.  The current crisis compels scrutiny of dormitory-related issues which HOME has repeatedly raised, previously.

Step up testing

HOME urges the authorities to proactively test residents in all workers’ accommodation with confirmed infections.  We acknowledge resource constraints on mass testing. But the high density and vulnerability of residents in mega dorms demand decisive pre-emptive action. Isolating residents with symptoms is insufficient for two reasons:(1) asymptomatic transmissibility of Covid-19; (2) population density in the dorms.

These factors exponentially exacerbate the dangers posed by poor or delayed access to medical care and delayed detection of infected people: creating a perfect storm for massive rapid infection.  Wide-scale testing is necessary so that all infected can be properly isolated, not only those with symptoms.

Workers’ vulnerability to asymptomatic infection

HOME still sees recent cases where employers not only refused to cover workers’ medical expenses but also discouraged or even punished workers for seeing a doctor when unwell. Unsurprisingly, workers usually see a doctor only when their symptoms are sustained or more serious.  Workers' poor access to timely medical care means those infected may go undetected until much later: lengthening the period that the virus may be transmitted.

Density in workers' dorms

Mega dorms house tens of thousands of workers.  At any one time, residents have to share facilities e.g. toilets and eating areas with dozens of people.  Even in licensed commercial dormitories that adhere to the authorities' standards for housing migrant workers, the space per resident means safe physical distancing is extremely difficult.  Conditions are often worse in the unlicensed accommodation that many employers house their workers in, such as converted industrial premises. Measures to stagger facility usage are not sufficient when the usage is still so high.

Systemic issues

Housing workers in mega dorms may resolve some accommodation issues.  But it makes the workers extremely vulnerable. From our experience of visiting dormitories, the space allotted according to the guidelines is still too cramped, in our view. They are unable to protect themselves with safe distancing. 

Looking to the future, we hope for structural changes so that migrant workers will be in a better position to protect themselves and the community around them.  Keeping them in such living conditions creates systemic vulnerabilities waiting to erupt. This endangers the workers and the broader community: not only during pandemics, but even with smaller-scale disease outbreak such as TB. Singapore has benefited so much from enjoying the fruit of their labour while keeping their cost low. We owe it to them and their families to spare no effort to protect them.