Rachel Ong on Singapore’s COVID-19 response

In Parliament on Monday (Mar 20), MP Rachel Ong spoke about lessons that could be learnt from the COVID-19 crisis to improve the welfare and care of migrant workers when the next pandemic strikes. She focused on Factory-Converted Dormitories (FCDs) which house a third of the 300,000 migrant workers living in dorms. Ms Ong called for strict enforcement of living conditions in FCDs, saying there had been a lapse in monitoring since new standards were imposed in 2017. Noting that some employers left their workers without access to food at the height of the pandemic, claiming cost pressures, she asked if they will be held accountable and how employers can flag for help in future crises so that this does not happen again. Ms Ong said the pandemic was a reminder to include the migrant worker population in crisis communication, especially when it concerns public health. She suggested that the Ministry of Manpower identify representatives for each nationality within dormitories to help disseminate information and distribute resources fairly. She also proposed setting up a platform to coordinate the efforts of NGOs or informal groups in times of crisis.