Coronavirus: Singapore must reject ‘not in my backyard’ mindset when rehousing migrant workers, top official says

Low-income foreign workers packed into bunk rooms that lack proper hygiene facilities account for more than 90 per cent of Singapore’s 38,000 Covid-19 cases

Singapore has vowed to improve living conditions for migrant workers in the short-term, and build new dormitories for 100,000 workers over the next few years

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Migrant workers, mostly from Bangladesh, queue to collect free masks and get their temperatures taken in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00am, 11 Jun 2020Updated: 8:00am, 11 Jun 2020

Singapore has rejected criticism of its decision to move migrant workers into residential accommodation in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, calling for greater tolerance and launching a social media campaign to promote empathy.

Low-income foreign workers packed into bunk rooms that lack proper hygiene facilities account for more than 90 per cent of Singapore’s 38,000 Covid-19 cases.

Singapore has vowed to improve living conditions for migrant workers in the short-term, and build new dormitories for 100,000 workers over the next few years. Thousands of labourers have been moved into 36 temporary accommodation in the city.

Some of these sites – including empty public housing flats and schools – are in residential neighbourhoods, and comments on social media about risks to security, health and property prices drew a sharp response from the government.

“In land-scarce Singapore it is inevitable that some of the new dorm sites will be quite near residential areas, so all of us must do our part to reject the ‘not in my backyard’ mindset,” said Lawrence Wong, co-head of the city’s coronavirus task force.

“We really need to appreciate the contributions that our migrant workers have made, and will continue to make, in building Singapore, and welcome them as part of our community,” Wong, also the national development minister, told parliament last week.

The pandemic has drawn attention to the stark inequalities in the wealthy city state, where more than 300,000 labourers from Bangladesh, India and China often live in rooms for 12 to 20 men, working jobs that pay as little as S$20 (US$14) a day.

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