Expat workers in Singapore face trouble

Two Singaporean NGOs have sent a report to the United Nations, detailing that Bangladeshi expatriate workers face forced labour and debt bondage, but Bangladesh is not doing enough to protect them.

The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) sent the joint shadow report to the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW) early this month.

The UN committee meets in Geneva next month to review Bangladesh's commitment to protecting its migrant workers under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

The HOME has provided legal aid, employment advice and financial assistance to 776 Bangladeshis, while TWC2 has provided services to 2,834 Bangladeshis in last two years.

The experiences of handling the cases, personal interviews and surveys helped them understand the extent of exploitation and abuse of the men and the ways how the Bangladesh government fails to comply with its obligations.

The report says Bangladeshi workers in Singapore are susceptible to most of these indicators of forced labour as defined by the International Labour Organization.

The 11 indicators include abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement, isolation, retention of identity documents, physical and sexual violence, withholding of wages, intimidation and threats, debt bondage, excessive overtime, abusive living and working conditions and excessive overtime.

It says vulnerability of the migrants springs from the high fees demanded by recruiters and intermediaries in Bangladesh.

A survey by TWC2 published last month found that in 2015, first-time Bangladeshi construction workers paid an average of 15,555 Singapore dollars or Tk 8.7 lakh to work in Singapore, home to 160,000 Bangladeshis.

However, their basic monthly salaries are low, which mostly range from S$300 to S$600, which means, their recruitment fees could be equivalent to between 26-51 months of their wages.

"The Bangladeshi construction workers are therefore 'migrant-debtors' for a significant period," it observes.

The report says such a situation enables employers to wield coercive power over the workers, who are under immense financial pressure and in a poor position to resist their employers' demands and exploitative practices that resemble debt bondage.

However, TWC2 and HOME do not see sufficient action by the Bangladesh government in controlling these fees and charges.

The common problems migrants reported include long hours of work in excess of legal limits, arbitrary wage deductions, erroneous calculation and the withholding of wages, poor living conditions, retention of workers' passports by employers, hazardous working environment, and denial or premature termination of medical treatment.

The report further says complaints of intimidation and threats by employers -- of blacklisting, dismissal and deportation -- are prevalent. Employers are also known to hire repatriation companies to confine workers and/or send them home and even forcibly confine them against their will.

"That the Bangladeshi migrant workers are exposed to such extreme forms of exploitation, many of which are indicators of forced labour, is an issue of grave concern," it adds.

However, Bangladesh has made no significant attempt to intervene with the Singapore authorities to stop these practices that constitute "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment", it alleges.

The HOME or TWC2, however, has not heard about such services or inspections by the Bangladesh foreign mission in Singapore. The work of the embassy is usually limited to visits to the prisons and assisting workers to write referral letters to Singapore's Ministry of Manpower in the event of a labour dispute.

 "As much as we would like the Singapore government to do its part, TWC2 wishes also to impress upon the Bangladesh government that it too has a responsibility to its own citizens," TWC2 Treasurer Alex Au told a Singapore newspaper, The Straits Times, which ran a report on the issue yesterday.

The Bangladesh High Commission in Singapore said the mission intensively monitored hiring of workers by the government-approved 14 recruiters and checked on their living condition.

"The high commission is actively engaged in ensuring maximum welfare of the expatriate workers," its spokesman told The Straits Times, adding that its officials make regular visits to dormitories to check on the workers' welfare and living conditions.

The workers also got legal and financial aid and counselling when they faced problems such as salary disputes and work injury compensation, the spokesman added.

Singapore's manpower ministry said it had a "comprehensive set of legislative, administrative and promotional measures" to protect the rights of all foreign workers.

"Singapore reviews its regulatory framework periodically to ensure the well-being and rights of foreign workers are safeguarded," it added.