Gen Y Speaks: Let’s think about how we treat workers
Several recent events have made me wonder whether Singaporeans remember this line in our national pledge: "To build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for the nation".
I am referring to how we treat manual workers in our society.
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There has been recent discussion on how some workers end up as “invisible” in their workplaces, with Singaporeans simply walking past them without even acknowledging them or showing them any respect.
“I would say in Singapore, the elite does not show respect for people who work as cleaners, gardeners, petrol station attendants, security personnel,” said Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh in a dialogue in October.
Weeks later, a Facebook post about how a maid was barred from entering the Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) with her employer’s family went viral and stirred up an intense online debate over the way our society has been treating our domestic helpers.
I, for one, am deeply disappointed that SCC has defended the ban on maids by saying that its club rules and bylaws are mandated by its members and available on its website.
It just blows my mind that in 21st-century modern day Singapore, such arcane and discriminatory rules exist.
This is like the Jims Crow time in the US during the 20th century where coloured people were banned from using public facilities and the powers that be of the time defended it as part of the rules put in place to separate the blacks from the whites.
We have to ask ourselves honestly what such a ban say of us as a society.
If we bar discrimination based on race, language or religion, surely we can take a stand against discriminating based on social status.
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Another event that highlighted how we treat workers poorly took place on Dec 12, when a SMRT worker got his right foot crushed in an accident while doing maintenance work.
This caused a delay in the train services, resulting in inconvenience to many commuters.
That evening, I was on my way home when I read about the news on my phone.
By coincidence, I happened to see a SMRT staff member berated by a commuter.
I don't know what led to this, but I am deeply saddened to overhear what the commuter told the SMRT staff: "You all can't even get things done properly. Things always get spoiled, including this morning!"
The SMRT staff just kept quiet and put on an apologetic face. I can only imagine the humiliation and anguish he must be feeling, especially after one of his colleagues has been badly injured.
It baffles me when we don’t appreciate the work done by these maintenance workers or ground staff and instead treat them with disrespect.
Yes, sometimes things don't work as they should be. But we should not be treating the workers in this manner.
I feel very sad for the thousands of SMRT staff who toil tirelessly behind the scene every day to make our trains work.
Many of them put their lives on the line and sometimes get hurt, as was the case on Dec 12.
There is this saying in Chinese '没有功劳也有苦劳", loosely translated in English as: "If no credit is given, at least give credit for the hard work they have put in".
This brings me to how our hawkers are treated.
TODAY journalist Louisa Tang has written about how Singaporeans are quick to complain about price increases by hawkers, and yet have no qualms about paying a premium for café food and fanciful drinks.
I totally agree with her, after experiencing this for myself at my mother’s fish soup stall at Geylang Bahru where I have been helping out during my free time for a year.
Once, a man who arrived in a loud sports car came by the stall to order a bowl of fish soup and rice for S$4.50, only to find the food not to his liking.
He started to berate us, complaining how bad our food was and how “expensive” it was.
I found that somewhat ironic coming from a man who drives a car costing over S$1 million.
While he had every right to expect a decent, tasty meal for S$4.50 at a hawker stall, the way he insulted us probably betrayed his low regard for hawkers.
Based on my experience, he is not the first, nor will he be the last customer to vent his anger at hawkers for the slightest thing.
It is not my intention to paint Singaporeans and Singapore as a heartless society.
There are many good-hearted Singaporeans in our society who will do everything in their capacity to help the unfortunate.
But from time to time, we do need to take a hard look to reflect where we have fallen short and how we can do better.
We can start at thinking about how we treat workers among us. Only then we can progress as a country towards a more classless society.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Maa Zhi Hong, an accountancy graduate of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, is currently serving his National Service.
