Charities Call For Mandatory Day Off For Domestic Workers
Singapore, Thursday, 26 May 2011
Long established as a condition of employment, a weekly day off is an internationally recognised right for workers. However, Singapore, a nation which employs approximately 200,000 foreign domestic workers (FDW), continues to stand apart by its absence of a regular legislated day off for FDWs. The legal framework covering FDWs has improved significantly in the city-state since the mid- 1980s when, as part of an economic policy dubbed the Second Industrial Revolution, the government liberalised its immigration policy to admit more FDWs so as to further increase the participation of local women in the workforce. While preferring a social educational approach together with incremental adjustments to the employment legislation which has noticeably improved protections for FDWs - once left to the mercy of unpredictable employers - the government has continued to resist legislating a weekly day off for FDWs. In the wake of evidence that FDWs work up to 16 hours a day, the question of a regular day off has become vital and no longer one that can be left to the vagaries of the market, so say the National Committee for UN Women, Singapore (formerly known as UNIFEM Singapore), and long-standing non-governmental organisations (NGO), Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2).
A collaborative project of the three NGOs, its 70-page research paper titled Made to Work: Attitudes towards Granting Regular Days off to Migrant Domestic Workers, documents the findings of a quantitative study examining employers’ attitudes to giving their FDW a day off. The project forms part of a wider ‘Day Off’ educational campaign launched by the NGOs in 2008 to encourage employers to give their FDW a regular day off and call on government to step in with more substantial legislative backing.
“Since our respective inception, we have been campaigning for mandatory days off for domestic workers. The purpose of the research was to take stock of our efforts and calibrate where employers are in terms of current practice. We were also keen to benchmark current practice in this area,” said Mr Jolovan Wham, HOME Executive Director, who was a member of the team that oversaw the research.
The report notes that adequate data on the scale of labour rights violations faced by migrant workers is generally unavailable. This report, therefore, fills a significant gap in the data.
Key findings of the research note that while FDWs work an average of 14 hours per day, only a third have at least one day off per week. Employers who give their FDW a day off tend to couch it in terms of employment rights while those who do not give their FDW a day off express the fear that the FDW may fall into bad company.
Among other issues surveyed (and the report varied rather more widely than focussing purely on the day off), respondents who do not employ a FDW shared the view that FDWs should be given a weekly day off. “The research is helpful in that it also throws a lot of light on various aspects of the current state of employment of FDWs in Singapore. It should be a call to action for policymakers, academics and employers, as well as prospective employers to improve the working conditions of FDWs,” remarked Ms Jacqueline Loh, a member of the National Committee for UN Women, Singapore (formerly known as UNIFEM Singapore) who also sat on the steering committee.
The report makes nine focused, but detailed, policy recommendations:
Make a weekly day off mandatory but allow FDWs to opt to work for their employer on their day off in return for fair compensation.
The law should not provide for FDWs to sign away all days off in return for cash compensation. This will prevent undue influence being brought to bear on the worker.
Provide FDWs with the same legal protections as all other low wage workers in Singapore.
Repeal security conditions that make employers responsible for the moral/social conduct of their FDW.
Provide rights-based education for employers.
Enhance education for employers on employer-employee relationships and stress management.
Promote social support networks for FDWs.
Promote social support networks for employers of FDWs.
Improve the professionalism and support functions of employment agencies engaged in FDW placements.
“In releasing the report at this time, we hope that the Ministry of Manpower, which has seen a change of minister since the General Elections on 7 May 2011, will recognise that the issue is one of basic employment justice and will be more open to re-examining the day off question. Migrant labour NGOs, both at home and internationally, view the day off as the cornerstone of a better set of rights that should be available to FDWs,” TWC2 Vice-President, Dr Noorashikin Abdul Rahman, a polytechnic lecturer, noted.
When spoken to, the three NGOs noted that the report is timely, given that the International Labour Organisation devoted its annual International Labour Conference (ILC) 2010 to discussing an international Convention which will set the framework for domestic worker rights. It will conclude its deliberations at this year’s conference due to take place in June in Geneva.
The government’s newly appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Madam Halimah Yacob, formerly a Deputy Secretary-General of Singapore’s National Trades Union Congress, is known to be strongly in favour of Singapore adopting a Convention. As chair of the Workers’ Group at the 99th session of the International Labour Conference held in Geneva in June 2010, she spoke robustly in favour of a Convention, although the Singapore government as a whole is known to be resistant.
She said, “The fact that domestic workers suffer from poor working conditions and that their isolation makes it difficult for trade unions to reach out and organise them to improve their working conditions, make it a strong case for international convention. A convention can be used by governments as a reference point to improve their legal environment through labour legislation that will enable domestic workers to benefit from the full range of protections and rights related to decent work.” Given the weak legislative framework protecting domestic workers, the three NGOs responsible for the research are strongly urging the Singapore government to vote in favour of a Convention which will give impetus for domestic laws and policies to be reviewed to match international labour standards.
Mr Wham noted, “The benefit to Singapore as a whole, where a foreign domestic worker is employed in one in five households, would be incalculable.” Singapore’s reputation as an attractive labour destination may well become tarnished if its legislative protections for FDWs continue to lag behind international best practice. As a nation that depends of a steady inflow of overseas workers to support its economic progress, it cannot afford to tarry too long.