Below is an interesting analogy of Singapore as a Killing Field for foreign Domestic Workers by an Indonesian newspaper. I prefer to call our comfy homes concentration camps for many who slave for a pittance without even getting a day off.
ELECTRIC NEWS
Jakarta Post calls S'pore a 'killing field' for maids
Storm over a headline
By Sim Chi Yin
June 14, 2005
IT was a shocking headline.
--File Picture
A Jakarta newspaper recently referred to Singapore as a 'killing field' for Indonesian domestic workers.
The 16 May piece in the Indonesian capital's main English-language daily, the Jakarta Post, drew an angry response from the Singapore embassy there.
It also sparked an article in another newspaper, Kompas, and a lot of talk among observers in both countries.
The article was based on research by Indonesian non-governmental organisation Institute for Ecosoc Rights on the problems faced by Indonesian migrant workers here.
It quoted Ms Sri Palupi, a researcher with the institute, as saying: '...for many Indonesian domestic workers who live in poverty at home, the city state is like a killing field as they are not only over-exploited but physically abused and trapped in forced labour'.
It said 114 Indonesian maids died after falling from a height while working here between January 1999 and early this year.
But the quarrel is less over that than the use of the words 'killing field' - which bring to mind the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in the 1970s and the Hollywood movie about the millions of Cambodians killed during that time.
A letter from the Singapore embassy, published in the Jakarta Post on 25 May, did not challenge the statistics, but noted that 'the number of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) who encounter problems in Singapore is a very small percentage of the 150,000 FDWs in Singapore'.
Signed by second political secretary Shang Thong Chie, the letter said the 'study' (quotation marks as in the letter) contains 'unsubstantiated allegations and factual inaccuracies... In particular, the use of the term 'killing field' is irresponsible and reprehensible'.
Ms Palupi, 40, told Kompas last week she was surprised by the use of the term.
'That phrase is too extreme, ' she said.
NEVER USED TERM
In an e-mail interview with The New Paper, Ms Palupi said she did not use the term 'killing field' in her study or interview with the Post.
When contacted, Mr Ridwan Sijabat, who wrote the Jakarta Post article, said: 'Palupi did not use the term 'killing field' in the study or interview. But when I proposed this terminology to her, she agreed with me that Singapore, to some extent, is a 'killing field' for Indonesian domestic workers because of the high mortality rate.'
Ms Palupi told The New Paper that the 'root cause of poor working conditions for Indonesian workers' was that their welfare is largely in the hands of private individuals - labour agencies and employers.
She had set out to investigate the cause of the high mortality rate in Singapore, she said.
A summary of her study, which will be completed next month, states that her team interviewed 120 domestic workers and their families.
The interviews were done in Singapore and four districts in Java and Sumatra, identified as popular supply areas for workers here.
The summary, which has been presented to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), concludes that many Indonesian maids here face 'poor working conditions' such as long hours, no rest days, non-payment of salary, inadequate food, withholding of passports, and confinement at home.
Some of these conditions fall within the ILO's definition of 'forced labour'.
The Indonesian embassy here confirmed the figures quoted in the summary - which cover deaths by falling and not by other causes such as illness.
It told The New Paper last week that the latest tally is 117 deaths.
Mr Fachry Sulaiman, the embassy's first secretary (protocol and consular affairs) said 48 of these were classified as accidents and 32 as suicides.
There were 21 'open verdicts' and 16 cases are still being investigated. He estimated about 60,000 Indonesian FDWs work here.
While there are no known comparative studies on this, the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong told The New Paper that in the territory (which has more than 93,000 Indonesian domestic workers), 32 have died because of accidents, illness or suicides since 2003.
Figures from the Indonesian embassy in Singapore show that for the same time period (2003 to 2005), 43 Indonesian maids here died by falling from a height.
In a written response to The New Paper, Mr Fachry said: 'Although the figures are worrisome, the embassy does not agree with the term 'killing field' used in the report.
'In reality, Singapore is one of the main destination countries for Indonesian domestic workers.'
He added that the 'relatively high' mortality rate of Indonesian maids here draws attention to the need for 'further improvements in domestic worker safety measures'.
Several have been introduced in recent years, the Singapore embassy's letter noted. (See report below.)
WELFARE SERVICES
Mr Fachry said his embassy has also taken measures to improve the welfare of maids here, including running a free monthly training programme, a twice-monthly radio programme and a shelter.
The embassy has also launched a website (www.kbrisingapura.com) with information on and for domestic workers. In an unpublished letter to The Jakarta Post, civil society group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) acknowledged efforts by various groups to improve conditions for domestic workers here.
Chairman Braema Mathi wrote: 'Things are improving albeit sometimes too slowly and we wish it could be better.'
She added: 'We feel the Jakarta Post's headline is a gross overstatement to an otherwise relatively fair accounting of the study...'
Some of the vulnerabilities faced by workers noted in Ms Palupi's study have long been raised by Singapore academics and activists.
Ms Palupi said the number of Indonesian maids who face problems in Singapore may indeed be a small percentage of the total number of workers here - as noted in the Singapore embassy's letter.
But, she added: 'I would argue that both countries should pay more attention to the protection and welfare of Indonesian domestic helpers instead of seeing them as mere statistics.'
Ms Geni Achnas, another Indonesian researcher studying Indonesian migrant workers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, called for an 'exhaustive investigation' by the Singapore and Indonesian governments into the deaths.
'The families of those 114 women are still searching for satisfactory answers,' she said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOM moves to improve maids' lives
RECENT moves by the Ministry of Manpower to improve the safety and welfare of foreign domestic workers here are:
April 2004
Compulsory orientation programme was introduced for all first-time employers. This can be done online.
All new domestic workers were required to attend a four-hour safety awareness course.
Jun 2004
Accreditation was made a requirement for employment agencies to get their licences renewed.
Accreditation is done by two bodies, Consumers Association of Singapore and Association of Employment Agencies Singapore. The certification, meant to maintain standards in the industry of some 700 employment agencies, is valid for four years.
Oct 2004
MOM started monitoring employers who change their maids frequently.
All employers who make five or more work permit applications in a year must go back to the classroom for the employers' orientation programme.
If they continue to change maids, they will be interviewed by MOM. If this persists without good reason, MOM may reject their subsequent applications for a maid.
Jan 2005
MOM raised the minimum age for foreign domestic workers to 23, and introduced education pre-requisites. Maids must have proof of at least eight years of formal education.
Feb 2005
MOM spelt out - for the first time - in work permit conditions that employers must pay domestic workers their salary every month and no later than seven days after the last day of that month.
Apr 2005
Multiple-choice entry test in English was introduced for all new domestic workers, on basic numeracy and literacy, and safety tips.
Maids must pass the test within three working days of their arrival here. Those who fail have to be repatriated.
HELP
Indonesian embassy domestic worker office's 24-hour hotline: 9295-3964
Ministry of Manpower: on salary claims, call: 6317-1298; for other welfare matters: 6339-5505
Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home): 6341-5525 (for women workers), 6341-5535 (for male workers)
Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants & Itinerant People (ACMI): 6280-5424
Indo Family helpline (for Indonesian domestic workers): 9489-9600
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ELECTRIC BLOG
TOPIC: Storm over a headline
BY liewkk69 2:36 am Jun 16, 2005
comfy homes for Singapore, concentration camps for maids
Compared to the nasty kingdoms in the Middle East, Singapore is indeed a paradise to many FDWs. But, in contrast to the more civilised countries, our treatement of Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) amounts to that of slavery, something similar to the mui-tsai system in colonial Singapore. Many FDWs are at the mercy of their employers' goodwill as the government continues to legislate fair working conditions for them, namely, the limits on number of hours worked, and min day offs a month. I wonder what Singaporeans who lock their FDWs up will think if their comfy homes are like concentration camps to others. The killing fields may be a bit of an overkill, but it is a term that we truely deserved to be called. Ashamed to be Singaporean