The 200,000 migrants from China working in Singapore suffer abuse, discrimination and violations of their rights but few can obtain legal redress because they are under the control of their employers, according to a report by the China Labour Bulletin.
The 60-page report, 'Hired on Sufferance', called on Singapore and Beijing to sign the three major international conventions on migrant worker rights and take other steps to protect the workers.
Foreign workers play a critical role in Singapore's economy: one million migrants made up one third of its workforce in 2009, accounting for 70 per cent of those in construction, 51 per cent in manufacturing and 25 per cent in services. More than 80 per cent are unskilled.
The migrants come from Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines and China. Those from China work mainly in construction, manufacturing and transport. Singapore is the second-largest market in the world, after Japan, for labour from China.
The abuse begins even before the migrant leaves their own shores, the report said. Chinese regulations stipulate that overseas labour contractors can only charge workers a maximum commission of 19,000 yuan (HK$22,480) but CLB found that the migrants paid between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan for a two-year contract.
Chinese law also states that before they leave workers should sign contracts of employment that comply with the law of the country where they are going. In reality, many workers have no contract - merely a verbal agreement on wages and working hours- or sign contracts with illegal clauses, many signing only a few hours before they board the plane.
When they arrive in Singapore, most are told to hand over their passports, even though this is illegal under the city's laws. For its one million foreign workers, the city has only 35 government-approved and purpose-built dormitories. The rest live in on-site quarters, shared flats, illegal dormitories converted from private buildings or cargo containers.