Coronavirus: Singapore imposes strict measures on migrant workers as it looks to resume some construction in June
- Only those who have recovered from the virus or tested negative will be allowed to return to work – and they must adhere to new guidelines
- Employers will need to assign them to specific work zones and stagger break times to ensure they cannot mingle
All workers on one project must be housed in the same accommodation. They must go for regular coronavirus testing and return on designated transport to their living quarters. Employers will need to assign them to specific work zones and stagger break times to ensure they cannot mingle. Workers will be given individually packed meals and cannot socialise with people outside their immediate teams of workers since break times are also staggered.
This is “so that even if transmission were to happen on the worksite, it will not go back and infect multiple dormitories, it will be contained,” National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said.
John Gee, former president of non-profit migrant worker group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), said such restrictions can only be in place for the short term to prevent workers from becoming unhappy.
“They are so stringent and restrictive that they are bound to be resented by many workers if implemented for more than a brief period and they will be unenforceable without the ready cooperation of the workers,” he said.