A letter to the National Wages Council

The Secretary
National Wages Council
c/o Labour Relations Department
Level 6-01 Ministry of Manpower
18 Havelock Road
Singapore 059764

Dear NWC,

As a society concerned with the well-being of migrant workers in Singapore, Transient Workers Count Too wishes to appeal to you to give consideration to the raising of salaries in the lowest paid sectors of the economy, where migrant workers are concentrated.

Salaries of most work permit holders have failed to keep pace with rising costs, including the cost of placement, since the end of the last century. While efforts have been made to raise the skill levels of local low-paid workers so that they qualify for posts carry improved salaries, migrant workers have tended to be left behind.

This is evidently to their disadvantage, but also to that of the overall Singaporean economy. Improved pay levels would increase the incentive for workers to sign up again after their first placement for work in Singapore, and so the country would gain greater benefit from their enhanced skill levels, instead of seeing a large proportion go elsewhere at the end of their contracts and needing to replace them with inexperienced new workers.

In the shipyard and construction sectors, hours are often long and the work is hard and hazardous, despite serious efforts to raise safety standards, and yet most workers are paid $2-$4 an hour. This is inadequate compensation for their work.

It may be that the council would consider domestic workers salaries as being beyond its purview, in the informal sector. We hope not; what other body concerned with salaries will speak up for them otherwise? Most domestic workers are at present paid between $300 and $400 a month. The pay of a worker with no day off and a salary of $350 therefore works out at $11.67 a day. Many work long hours; for a 15 hour day, this would mean a worker being paid 78 cents an hour.

In view of the exceptionally low pay of domestic workers and their limited bargaining power, we believe that the introduction of a minimum wage (if necessary from a policy viewpoint, specifically limited to domestic workers as a special case) would be an effective means of redressing this situation. We note that the Philippines is seeking to establish an internationally accepted minimum monthly salary for its nationals of US$400 and suggest that this might be considered as a good starting point for considering its level.

The government has highlighted the need for enhanced productivity in Singapore's economy. Reducing the level of turnover among migrant workers through improving salary levels could be one strong component element in the drive for improved productivity. Even if current efforts to curb recruitment, allied to a reduction in demand from the construction sector, produce a stabilisation or drop in migrant worker numbers, it is unlikely to radically alter the high level of migrant worker participation in Singapore's economy. A long term relationship between migrant workers and Singapore society will develop more favourably for all concerned if locals and foreign workers are made to feel that they share a common interest in Singapore's rising prosperity, reflected in enhanced pay levels, rather than being competitors who can only gain at each other's expense.


Yours sincerely,

John Gee
President
Transient Workers Count Too

Report from TODAY 

No minimum wage for domestic workers: NWC

TODAY 

May 26, 2010

by Esther Ng

SINGAPORE - It was the first time the National Wages Council had received such a request, which came from migrant welfare group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2).

But the call for NWC to recommend an increase in the salaries of work permit holders did not get far, as "transient/migrant workers and foreign domestic workers do not fall under the ambit of NWC", the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) told MediaCorp yesterday as it confirmed the receipt of TWC2's letter.

The non-governmental organisation had said that improved pay levels would increase the incentive for workers to sign up again after their first placement for work in Singapore, and thus the country would benefit from their enhanced skill levels, instead of having to replace them with inexperienced new workers.
TWC2 also asked for a minimum wage for domestic workers.

When asked about the issue at NWC's press conference, MOM permanent secretary Loh Khum Yean said: "We don't have a minimum wage for Singapore, whether local workers or migrant workers."
The feedback has been forwarded to MOM.

Click here for the report. 

Employment Agencies Act Review

Report (click to download)

Media report

Call to cap agents’ fees
TODAY
27 May 2010

TWC2, sector players propose ways to protect foreign workers

ESTHER NG
estherng@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE — While the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is looking at tougher penalties for errant employment agencies, a migrant workers welfare group here wants the issue of foreign workers being charged excessive fees to be addressed.

Proposals that Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) sent this month to MOM include a law to cap employment agency fees at no more than three times a foreign worker’s monthly salary, and for agents to provide a partial or full refund when work is terminated through no fault of the worker.

Agents should also disclose to workers an employer’s track record with the agency — such as the number of work permits cancelled before expiry, said TWC2.

In March, MOM said it would review the Employment Agencies Act.

It received 1,280 complaints last year on agency malpractices, an 80-per-cent hike from the previous year.

TWC2 said overseas agencies, rather than Singapore-based ones, charge exorbitant amounts. It suggested making it a requirement for Singapore-licensed agencies to do business only with registered overseas counterparts.

This would not work, said Reliant human resource director A Rajasekaran, as employment agencies from receiving and sending countries typically require the services of middlemen — agents who scout for labour.

“These agents will charge agencies, registered or not, a fee. So how are you going to control this?” he said.

What Mr Rajasekaran would like to see are stiffer restrictions or penalties on unlicensed agencies, whose numbers, he feels, have spiralled.

“Anyone can go online, put the name of workers, submit the application and collect fees from the worker,” he said.

Currently, the maximum penalty for operating an unlicensed agency is $5,000 — a “few thousand dollars less” than what agencies charge foreign workers.

MOM is mulling the idea of requiring agencies to be accredited with the Association of
Employment Agencies Singapore or the Consumers Association of Singapore.

TWC2 has suggested raising the barriers to entry by setting a “sufficiently high minimum capitalisation requirement” for those seeking a new licence or to renew one. It wants the $350 licence application fee to be raised.

1S Staffing Services manager Ng Sian Ki welcomed the proposals. He has been asked by workers if their prospective employer is “stable”.

But both he and Mr Rajasekaran baulked at disclosing to a worker an employer’s track record with an agency.

According to TWC2, the law does not place enough responsibility on employment agencies to safeguard the interests of foreign workers where job placement is concerned.

Workers have been placed with businesses in a “fragile” state or with employers who make unreasonable demands, terminate employment or fail to give sufficient work.

In Australia, a company has to guarantee each foreign worker a minimum of 30 hours of paid work per week over a six-month period.

TWC2 has proposed the partial or whole refund of agency fees to a worker when work is not forthcoming.

Match maids' skills, aptitude to employers' needs

Match maids' skills, aptitude to employers' needs
By John Gee, For The Straits Times
Apr 26, 2010

A DOMESTIC worker newly arrived in Singapore returned to her agency after five days with a household that did not give her any food at all. Finding that at her next placement she was expected to put up with being slapped and poked by the employers' unruly children, she went back to her agency within weeks. It was third time lucky for her: She finally found a considerate employer who paid her on time, saw that she had enough food and rest, and who had well-behaved children.

Another worker reported being hit by one of her employer's sons. She returned to her agency just weeks after her placement.

One maid got along well with most members of her employer's family, but when the children were at school and the parents at work, an elderly male relative followed her around the house and touched her. She did not know what to say to the family, so she just said that she was not happy and wanted to leave. They were left with no explanation for her 'strange behaviour'.

These are reasons why domestic workers encountered by Transient Workers Count Too left their employers within a short time of being hired. Similar stories would be familiar to anyone who has worked with domestic workers over some years. More common are complaints by workers about employers who expect them to work long hours, often 15 or more a day. Some say that their work is excessive: They are expected to cook, clean a big house and care for a family with both young children and elderly relatives.

Some employers think that they are being smart when they hire a maid and then get her to clean a relative's house as well as their own, though this is considered illegal. Often when these workers want to leave their employers, they are described as 'choosy'.

Some maids claim their agencies know that particular clients are unreasonable or worse, but they nevertheless place domestic workers with them knowing that they will soon be back. They make more money by charging for the original placement, for a transfer fee and for a replacement maid.

It is only fair to add that others report more positive experiences at the hands of agents, including those who were conscientious in not charging them for a transfer when the employer was clearly responsible for a placement not working out.

These are the factors, from the workers' perspectives, behind the recently revealed statistic that 28 per cent of employers terminated their contracts with their domestic workers within three months of taking them on.

A recurring problem is a mismatch of expectations between workers and employers. Foreign workers in general are lured to Singapore by recruiters' talk of good money, working hours and conditions. The reality sometimes disappoints. It is a rude awakening, but a worker who has been shouldered with debts to the tune of eight months' salary is not able to say that she would rather go home.

Most maids are given training that equips them to be general house workers. They receive instruction in childcare and elderly care, but the training is not intensive.

Singapore's policy is that families are not authorised to hire a foreign domestic worker simply because they feel like having someone to do their housework. To obtain a work permit, they should show that they have a credible need - the care of young children, elderly or disabled relatives. This may be convenient justifications for obtaining a domestic worker, but for most, the reason is exactly as they say. It is frequently essential to hire help if a couple with dependants both wish or need to go out to work.

The idea of having a worker who can handle all domestic tasks may be appealing to such employers, but their primary need may really be someone who has specialised training or aptitude for childcare or elderly care. The result may be a disappointment for employers and maids alike, for justified reasons in each case. It is the situation they are in that is the problem, not the individuals themselves.

There ought to be more transparency brought to the process of recruitment and placement, so that potential workers can gain a good sense of training possibilities, what they will be expected to do, work conditions, how much placement will cost them, and their rights and protections. Then they can make informed decisions.

This will take regional cooperation and efforts at outreach by the authorities and non-governmental organisations in all the countries concerned.

There needs to be a more targeted approach to training and placement. Workers who feel that they can make a commitment to look after the elderly, for example, should receive training that focuses on elderly care. They should be assisted by agencies to find placements with families who want workers with this specialised training.

Employers may need to think more carefully about what is their main reason for taking on a worker and concentrate on finding one who meets that need.

It follows that they have to be prepared to accept that their worker may not be so proficient in tasks outside her speciality, and that they should be prepared to pay more for a skilled worker. But the outcome should be happier employers and employees - and fewer parting of ways within days of a placement.

The writer is president of Transient Workers Count Too, an advocacy group for migrant workers.