Expat workers in trouble

Two Singaporean non-government organisations have sent a report to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families (CMW) stating that Bangladeshi workers often face labour and debt bondage in that country. It is a shame because we have a consulate in Singapore which is apparently not doing enough to protect our workers there.

This brings to the fore precisely the question as to what our mission in Singapore is doing. Why must employment advice and financial assistance to thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers in trouble have to come from foreign organisations? We have repeatedly highlighted the plight of our expatriate workers in foreign countries and the lack of support from our embassies or missions in those countries. The Singapore reports have done little to improve the image of the government, and it sends the wrong signal to the foreign employers who can and do get away with human rights violations when it comes to the helpless migrant workers from Bangladesh.

The report that has been furnished details how, over the years, our workers have been subjected to abuse, deception, restriction on movement, isolation and retention of identity documents, and sexual and physical violence. Indeed the list is a long one! So, now that these abuses have been exposed, will the authorities wake up from their slumber and take steps to rally our labour officers posted with our missions abroad? We take great pride in the sacrifices our workers make to send precious foreign exchange back to Bangladesh, but we do little to protect them from conniving employers and recruiters. This has to change.