By : Warren Carter

Date : 1 October 2007

For most of the Singaporean workers they are aware of the working conditions for some of the non-Singaporean workers but there is side they may not know of or willing to admit to. For the PR’s and Employment Pass holders they may not know at all since many of these are working professionals for the most part.

Move out side of the CBD and get to the out lining area where the factories are and see how the workers are living there. I will talk about a warehouse building that has companies making furniture in them. It’s a large building with 2 10 store blocks.

While most of the workers get off between 5:30 to 7 in Singapore the poor guy that is here from Malaysia for example in one of these shops may end up working until 12 or 1 in the morning only to get up and start all over again at 7 or 8am. Ok I can understand long hours because you need to make a dead line, that is one thing but what I have seen goes beyond that. It is just a case of working a person to death for very low wages.

Moat of these workers I would call skilled workers due to the quality of the items they are making. These guys are good at their goods. For them each pay check is seen as double when they return home. To the employer, your local Singaporean, it is cheap labor that they don’t have to take care of in any way shape or form.

Since the pay is so low and Singapore is so expensive to live some of the guys I met live in the building. Sleeping in and under stairs ways or where ever they can find a place to lay their piece of cardboard which serves as their bed. It is really sad to see this. They come to Singapore in search of a better life and end up living like this. Ok I don’t know what life is like for them back home since I have not been there but when I talk to them they tell me that back home they have a car and house with some land around it. So the life in Singapore to them is bad but they do it so they can have a better life at home.

But the issue I am talking about is here not there. Next to the complex is a hostal where the foreign works live, this over crowd dorm is like a getto in my book. I can’t find the nice words to say so I’ll just say the place sucks! No room to do anything, cloths hanging every where drying, trash and people packed in like on a slave ship.  Nothing to do at night but go drinking on the street out of the place since they can’t drink inside so this bring down the surrounding area form all the trash and empty beer bottles left laying around. It is so bad that even the police have really giving up on trying to control the area. Add to that that many of the workers don’t or speak very little English or Chinese so communication with them is out the window of they are from Bangladesh like many are.

It seem that the over attitude is bring them in work them hard for low pay then send them back. Nothing is done that I can see to help these workers integrate in to Singapore better. Sometimes in the building I will find a guy sleeping in the stair way that doesn’t  work in the building but some place else. He finds new places to sleep each night since his employer will not let him sleep in the building where he works. So like a home less man at night he just wonders the streets at night. Is the cloths on his back all he has? I can’t answer that question and I wish I could because I too want to know.

Back in the trash collection building of the complex are 3 worker sleep and I need not tell you how it smells in that area. There workers there were doing pretty good since they could resell the cardboard they collected but their boss stopped by telling them to collect it all and bundle it up so it could be hauled away, well what happen is that the boss takes the bundles to another warehouse where he stores it then HE resells it for the profit and leaves the workers out of the loop. So here they are doing 2 jobs, collection of the trash in the building and at the same time making more money for him. Now I’m sure their boss has plenty money so why can’t he let this 3 poor souls have the small profit they make off the reselling? Another case of the rich getting richer and poor getting poorer, which you see a lot, but it’s that the way the world always has been? The haves and have not’s.

During their off day they go out drinking with co-worker or meet up with a maid they befriended usually on Sunday which is the day most of the maids and workers have off. For those that don’t have some place to go they site around the area where they live on the sidewalk and party there drinking and eating peanuts or chips. So unless you work in the area where they live you will not see this going on because each morning the areas are pretty much cleaned up by someone, which I don’t know YET! Hidden away on back street out of site and out of mind I guess it the way it works.

A person would think that a developed country like Singapore or any other developed country for that fact would at least try to do better for not only the citizens but those that come here legally to work. Now one think I have heard is the Singapore plans to build bigger housing blocks for the TWN so they can be contained in one area since the Housing Board (HDB) wants to stop people from renting out room to the TWN where they (the flat owner) will rent out the one room to 8 people. Also by doing this the contractors will have more centralized locations to pick up there workers at.

While this is not only pointed at Singapore but all counties since the problem is world wide.

Labor laws are kicked to the side for non-Singaporean third world workers. There have no place to make complaints, will I’m sure they do but all that will happen is they get fired and sent back home. No one complains in Singapore if you want to keep working at the company.

Cheap skilled labor is what made Singapore what it is today with the skilled labor force of the Singaporean or TWN. Companies could come here get cheap rental places per square foot and fill it with skilled workers so the profit margin of the products is very high but for the worker making only S$1000 or S$1200 working in a factory it is not that great if you are working a 12 hour day like many do. Cleaners make between S$700 and S$900 a month working 5 ½ days a week of a Singaporean, TWN 7 days a week and who knows how many hours, I have seen them working as late as 3 in the morning on Sundays. Slave labor, in a way, only because the employer can work them as hard as along as they want without any legal repercussions to speak of.

It is not like there is an agency out there checking work sites at night at least that I have seen.

Over time? What is that? The labor law says after 44 hours a worker making less then a certain amount is entitled to over time pay of 1.5. Yeah right, I know of very few people here in Singapore that get over time pay and many of my friends are not making the big bucks. But again no one complains and keeps racking the over time hours for the company for free as if they expect some big thank you in the end. Well people company loyalty goes as far as the front door then you are on your own because when it comes time to start cutting people they don’t give a crap how many free hours for the company you have given. If you positions goes away so do you and is just the way it is in any country. So sorry Charlie!

So in ending the next time you see the TWN or the guys from Malaysia working here doing the jobs the locals will not do try cutting them some slack. Look around at the building and remember who build them with for you, or while driving your cars or taking the bus think about who made this road so nice. The skilled workers from some place else did, that is who.

When not working:

Like many others around the world that have traveled over seas to work the time off is limited and they wanted to make the most of it too. Sundays are the normal off days for the TWN in Singapore and this is also the same day that most of the maids are off to.

Around Singapore in some key spots you will find the workers out with friends or looking to make new one. Since the number of male to females is vastly uneven most the guys just hang out with their buddies drinking or just walking around killing time. Places like Orchard Towers and Lucky Plaza to mention a few locations are normal meeting places for those that have girl friends or hoping to meet a girl to become a girl friend. During the hours of 12 noon to about 5 or 6pm some clubs have Tea Dances which are geared towards the workers and maids to give them such meeting places to enjoy.

But don’t be fool and think that only non-Singapore girls  are attracted to the TWN, some local girls also have them as boy friends but they ladies keep these relationships very quite since some are married. I spoke with one young man about 24 from Malaysia and he showed me a picture of his local girlfriend be meet in the Tampines area, she is married to a Singaporean and she is from Indonesia.

Saturday nights around the housing area for the TWN if there is a store close by you can find the working sitting around the side walks or any other location they can find enjoying their drinks and snacks just like a day in the park. The down side is afterward they rarely remove their trash so the next morning the cleaning staff from the building will have to take the time to clean the area up. For the most part they are well behaved and rarely cause any trouble. But what does happen is they go out drinking and drink a lot so they may fall asleep some place to awake and find that their wallets, money, hand phone and work permits are all gone. Hand phone lost has to be the number one item they loss most. Since they get paid in cash when they loss their wallet everything is gone.

During the evening time the Geylang area is where you will find those looking for female companionship. The alley areas from lorong 20 to 12 have the heaviest concentration of the workers along with the park by lorong 12 and Geylong Road. Starting in June 2007 the number of Indian working girls have increased a lot but these are not your top of the line girl by any stretch of the imagine.

11 October 2007 – Update

It seams that every time I do an article something comes out on it that needs to be added to complete the story. While my intension is not to down talk Singapore just tell what is going on that many not know or the way I see things so remember many are just my opinion from my personal observations and experiences.

There is a new law going in from of the parliament that says the employers will need to provide affordable health care to all there foreign (TWN) workers, this is great news for the workers. So there is a lot that the government is doing but sad to say most of it is unknown to the average persons let alone some one from the other side of the world.

I hope to be able to add more this story with good news for the workers that build Singapore.

So what does the Labor Act say?

Well here it is in black and white for you. I see no where in it a separation between any workers, do you?

 Part IV of the Employment Act & Section 33 are applicable only to:

• All workmen; and 
• Other employees earning not more that $1,600 per month (excludes, overtime, bonus, Annual Wage Supplement, productivity incentives and allowances).

Definition of Week

To determine Hours of Work and Rest day in a week

Week

Means a continuous period of 7 days commencing at midnight on Sunday (Monday to Sunday)

Hours of Work

An employee's 'hours of work' is the period during which the employee is expected to carry out the duties assigned to him/her by the employer. It does not include any intervals allowed for rest, tea breaks and meals.

Contractual Hours of Work

An employee covered by Part IV of the Employment Act is not required under his/her contract of service to work more than eight hours in a day or 44 hours in a week.

The limit of eight hours per day may be exceeded when an employee is not required to work more than five days a week. However, he/she is not required to work for more than nine hours per day or 44 hours in a week.

If the number of hours worked is less than 44 hours every alternate week, the limit of 44 hours a week may be exceeded in the other week. However, this must be stated in the contract of service and is subject to a maximum of 48 hours in one week or 88 hours in any continuous two week period.

A shift worker may be required to work up to 12 hours a day, provided that the average working hours each week do not exceed 44 over a continuous three week period.

An employee who is not on shift work can be required to work up to 12 hours a day if the employee gives his consent in writing after the provisions of Sections 38 and 40 of the Employment Act have been clearly explained to him.  He must be informed of the daily working hours, the number of working days in each week and the weekly rest day.

If the employee's rest day falls on a day other than a Sunday, the employer is required to prepare a monthly roster and inform him of his rest days for the month at the beginning of each month.
Overtime allowance will be payable only if the employee is required to work more than an average of 44 hours a week over any continuous period of three weeks.

Break Time

An employee is generally not required to work more than six consecutive hours without a break.

However, if the nature of work is such that it must be carried on continuously, an employee may be required to work eight hours continuously. In such an instance, a break or breaks must be given so that the employee can have his/her meal(s). The duration of the break(s) should be no less than 45 minutes.

Maximum working hours

An employee is not allowed to work for more than 12 hours within a day except in the following circumstances:

a)   Accident or threat of accident;

b)   Work that is essential to:

a.   The life of the community;
b.   National defence; or
c.   Security;

c)   Urgent work to be done to machinery or plant; or

d)   An interruption of work which was impossible to foresee.

A shift worker is not allowed to work more than 12 hours a day under any circumstances.

Overtime

All work in excess of the above hours of work is considered as overtime work, and the employee must be paid no less than 1.5 times his/her hourly basic rate of pay. Payment for overtime work must be made within 14 days after the last day of the salary period.

The rate of payment is not less than one and a half times the employee's hourly basic rate of pay.

For a monthly-rated employee. His hourly basic rate of pay is computed as follows: 

For a daily-rated employee, his hourly basic rate of pay is computed as follows: 

For a piece-rated employee, his hourly basic rate of pay is computed as follows:

Based on the hourly basic rate of pay, the overtime pay for the 3 categories of employees is to be calculated as follows:

Hourly Basic Rate of Pay x 1.5 x Number of Hours of Overtime Worked

Under Part IV of the Employment Act, it is mandatory to make overtime payment to an employee if his basic salary is $1,600 or less a month, or if he is a workman (regardless of his salary level).  Generally, a workman is an employee whose work involves manual labour.  Some examples of workman are lorry drivers, construction workers, kitchen helpers, machine operators.  The minimum rate for overtime pay is 1.5 times the hourly rate of pay.  For other categories of employees, overtime pay will depend on the terms stated in their employment contract. 

Maximum Hours of Overtime

An employee is permitted to work up to a limit of 72 hours of overtime in a month. However, this limit may be exceeded if the Ministry of Manpower has granted an exemption.

For work done on rest days or public holidays it is not included in the 72 hours' limit for overtime. However, if an employee works beyond his normal daily working hours on his rest day or public holiday, the extra hours of work done would be included in the 72 hours' limit for overtime work.

The rate of payment for an employee who works overtime on his rest day and public holiday should be paid at not less than one and a half times his hourly basic rate of pay for the overtime work (as in the case of overtime work on any other day), in addition to his rest day or public holiday pay.