Job Security Of Migrant Workers Should Not Depend On Employers

29 May 2020

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong told the media yesterday that the job security of migrant workers who return to work after quarantine will depend on their employers and the state of the economy. He was quoted ‘we will take care of the migrant workers during this period, when they are in quarantine. That is our commitment. But once workers are recovered and are released to the work force to work, then whether or not they will continue to work depends on their employers.’   

In the face of any economic crisis, migrant workers are usually the first to lose their jobs. While we understand the rationale for prioritising job retention for citizens, it is important that we do not ignore migrant workers, especially the low wage work permit holders who have done much for the advancement of our country’s economy. They do the jobs which few locals do because the pay is low and the working conditions are harsh.

Construction workers are particularly vulnerable as many stand to lose their jobs due to uncertainties in the construction industry. Most pay recruitment fees amounting to several thousand dollars. Loans and mortgages are also taken out in their home countries to finance their journeys to work in Singapore. Returning home in debt would have devastating consequences for them and their families, who might be facing additional financial hardship in light of Covid-19. HOME has been contacted by several workers whose employers have decided to terminate their services because of the impact of Covid-19 on their businesses. Their employers are waiting for flights to resume and circuit breaker measures to end before repatriating them.

But the fact is, our dependency on foreign manpower, especially in the construction industry is as high as 80% with more than 50% of the demand coming from critical public sector infrastructure projects In fact, temporary measures by the Ministry of Manpower that allow inter-sectoral transfers of Work Permit holders underscores the critical gap that migrant workers play in our economy. Supply side bottlenecks remain, including reluctance of current employers to give consent for transfer, information asymmetry on available jobs in the market, limited digital literacy and language barriers and blanket SHN measures only complicating the whole process.   

The Ministry of Manpower should allow workers in such circumstances to switch employers without having to obtain the permission of their current employers and facilitate job-matching at a national level. An online platform can be made available for companies who are hiring so that others who intend to retrench their employees can match their workers to those who need them. MOM can also advise employers who are intending to hire workers from abroad, to consider hiring applicants from this platform first. 

We should not treat migrant workers as disposable goods: usually the first to be hired because of the relatively low costs to employ them, but also the first to be fired, not being citizens and  having the least employment protection under the law. Job security is the main source of mental stress for many of the workers we have spoken to. Addressing these concerns should also be the government’s priority in looking after the well-being of migrant workers.