Budget 2024 > Latest > Commentary
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): In my Budget speech, I shared about how our policies on migrant workers differentiate between “us” Singaporeans and “them” migrant workers.
First, many workers do not have enough space. Our current dormitory standards require at least 3.5 square metre per resident. We are asking dormitories to only increase this by 0.1 square metre within the next six years. By contrast, our full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) have at least seven square metre per resident. Will the MOM ensure that migrant workers have at least the same amount of space as our NSFs?
Second, many workers do not have safe food. Singapore Food Agency (SFA) requires all catered food be consumed within four hours after it is prepared and be labelled with a “consume by” time-stamp.
Workers tell me that many of them are catered food without the time-stamp and they regularly consume food way past the four-hour timeframe. Will the MOM ensure that food catered for workers in dormitories comply with existing food safety requirements?
Third, and lastly, many workers are made to pay illegal kickbacks. Kickbacks are a form of corruption but are punished less severely. Will the MOM increase penalties of employment kickback offences to be equivalent to corruption offences and have better whistle-blower protections?
Watch the speech here.