On 3rd February, in order to express my gratitude towards my domestic helper at home, I decided to make for her Nasi Briyani – a classic Indonesian dish. In the process, I understood her difficulty in cooking Chinese dishes as I struggled a lot. This was because I was not used to some ingredients, especially spices such as safron. To add on, I did not know much about the kinds of Indian food there are. Therefore, it made me think of how she had to firstly learn the various types of dishes and then try cooking them. Meanwhile, I was already that close to giving up when trying to make that one dish.

Ultimately, after several trial and errors, I managed to make something that at least somehow resembles Nasi Briyani. Despite how flawed I felt it was, she was extremely thankful and grateful just from this small act of mine. 

This experience made me think about how hard it is for domestic helpers who just settled in to Singapore. A typical household would usually want to employ a helper who knows how to cook. However, this helpers came from a completely different place and culture. Similar to how we might not be used to their food, they are not used to ours as well. However, they still have to slowly learn the ropes of how to cook Chinese food and despite their hard work and effort sometimes, some employers harshly dismiss their food as “not nice”. 

I have been growing up with a domestic helper ever since I was young, hence, one can basically say that they have been a very prominent part of my life – fetching me from kindergarten, preparing my meals filled with nutrients and even changing my diapers. Thankfully, my parents have always taught me to respect my helpers and say “Thank you” to them. However, sadly, I know that that is not the case for many other households. There have been various articles whereby helpers are verbally abused and treated as a tool instead of human. into come to Singapore, they have to leave their family and their accustomed way of life behind. Furthermore, they have to learn and adapt to our culture such as making Chinese dishes. After going through such difficulties and hardships, it pains me to know that several of them are being mistreated and in some cases, not even getting the salary you rightfully deserve. 

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On 31st January 2019, I went around school to distribute refreshments alongside “Have a nice day” notes and the flyers I got from MWC. 

I went around the different buildings’ storage rooms which were where they were usually in. However, most of the time, I was too shy to enter the room especially when they were sleeping there. Additionally, I did not know how to approach them and felt “weird” doing so as I have never communicated much with them before. It made me realised that although I see the migrant workers community almost on a daily basis, I have never initiated any conversations with them – not even any greetings when I pass by them. This might be due the fact that since young, my family has never interacted with any foreign workers. In addition, I am honestly quite embarrassed to say this but my aunt has always been telling me to avoid “these people”. Furthermore, I am a shy person by nature. Hence, with all these factors, I found it difficult to approach them. 

That was also when I realised that I typically have no problem in approaching elderly or children, so why am I hesitating so much to approach them? I started feeling very guilty of harbouring this ill feelings without me even knowing and hence, built up my courage and approached them. Moreover, though I have understood the plight of the migrant community for quite some time, I have not been able to do anything for them. Thus, it was then I decided that I should stop procrastinating to “help them” and finally take some action. Some of the migrants were not in the room and hence, I placed the refreshments on the table. Among those who were in the room, most tried rejecting me initially but after a few pushes from me, they accepted it and thanked me. I felt good after distributing all the refreshments I brought. It was as if a rock has been lifted from my shoulders.

If you were to ask Celestine from 5 years ago to approach a migrant worker and distribute refreshments to them, she would have been guilty of probably thinking “Why should I do that” and would have still been harbouring some prejudice towards them. Thankfully, due to the fact that I am in the course Business & Social Enterprise, I managed to find out more about the plight the migrant worker community face and was hence, able to rid myself of the initial prejudice I had of them and empathise with them. Right now, I am even able to do something for the community. Although it might be a small action, I felt that due to this first small action, I was able to break down the walls I built up around them and felt more confident in approaching and interacting with them in the future. In the future, I will be sure to at least greet them whenever I pass by them.

On 19th January 2019, I visited Migrants Workers Center (MWC) in order to get a understanding of the steps a migrant worker should take if he or she is getting exploited. I managed to talk to one of the executives there and she explained in greater detail the rights a foreign worker has, and the steps they should take if they are mistreated and want to file a complaint. For instance, some of them include receiving their salary at least once a month, and within seven days after the end of the salary period and receiving overtime pay at least once a month, which must be paid within 14 days after the end of the salary period. Furthermore, she also advised that workers should keep their own records of the numbers of hours they have worked overtime since the employer might not at times. Employers are also not allowed to collect kickbacks from employers. She proceeded on to give a case study whereby the director of Yuan Chun Contractor Pte Ltd had been collecting kickbacks from his foreign workers as a condition for their continued employment with his company and told them that their work passes would not be renewed if they did not pay him. After being investigated by MOM, he was sentenced to jail.

In the case where they have salary claims or employment disputes with their employer, they should approach the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) for help. It is also advised to approach TADM early as the chances of recovering the owed salary in full will be higher and there will be given time to look for a new employer. 

She also explained to me about the Work Injury Compensation Claim (WICA). WICA lets employees make claims for work-related injuries or diseases, without having to take legal action. In the event that the employer still does not pay the medical leave wages and medical expenses after one has submitted all original MCs and medical bills to him, the worker should approach MOM.

However, at the same time, she warned that one must not make a fraudulent claim for the work injury compensation or else one may be fined or jailed up. She made this warning as apparently, 

To sum it off, she told me that ultimately, MOM is still the one responsible for enforcing the law and order. All MWC and other NGOs could do were to provide advice and assistance to migrant workers seeking remedies against unfair employment practise and provide shelter and food in the interim while awaiting workers’ case settlement. To end the session, she handed me some flyers, which contained information of what workers could and should do if they are being mistreated, to distribute to the foreign workers at school.

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References:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/593f6d9fe4fcb5c458624206/t/5bd26f620d9297e70989b27a/1540517748798/Wage+theft+in+Silence+Report.pdf

https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/our-role

http://www.atimes.com/article/report-claims-migrant-workers-in-australia-not-treated-well/

http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/news/2018/10/new-report-claims-broken-system-fails-migrant-workers-suffering-wage-theft

https://www.actu.org.au/actu-media/media-releases/2017/exploitation-of-migrant-workers-is-systemic-according-to-new-report

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/108185429/a1-billion-wage-theft-as-australian-migrant-workers-suffer-in-silence

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/158-employers-convicted-in-last-3-years-of-not-paying-workers

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/mandatory-settling-in-programme-for-foreign-workers-to-start-in-second-half-of

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d72Dl1LwJ2nM5L3Kajt7RWaPx7b3XdBS/view?usp=sharing 

Being a Singaporean, I am surrounded by migrant workers wherever I am – in school, in my condominium and even my house. Therefore, I decided to appreciate my gratitude to these people who are secretly the heroes in Singapore.

To start it off, in Week 11, I am going to drop by Migrant Worker’s Center (MWC)’s office where I will be given a brief introduction on the works of the Migrant Workers Center. Through this, I am able to gain a better understanding of the experiences migrant workers have and become more knowledgeable about the laws, policies and regulations that govern the movement and experiences of migrant workers in Singapore.

I chose this activity in order to gain deeper understanding of the kind of help available for migrant workers and the actions NGOs have taken to prevent more of such exploitation cases from happening. This is so that I will be more aware of the various actions migrants can take when they are faced with unfair treatment. This is so that I will know what to include in my notes which will be distributed around my school.

In Week 15, I will be going around school to distribute refreshments alongside notes of the workers’ rights and what they can do if they are exploited. At home, I have a domestic helper from Indonesia and in order to thank her for the amount of work and care she has showered me and my family with, I decide to cook her meal. 

I decided to target the workers in my school as they have been the ones who were always ensuring my safety and making life easier for me. For instance, they do construction work or AV work to ensure that lessons and activities run smoothly in school. Without them, the school might be dangerous due to things such as loose wires. Additionally, lecturers would not be able to use the projector, hindering the flow of the lesson and ultimately, students’ education. 

As for my helper at home, she has been the one preparing meals for my family for the past 5 years. Hence, I felt that instead of her being the one who always gives others food, she can now be at the receiving end – the one getting food instead. Since she has always been with Chinese families, she has always been cooking Chinese dishes and eating them. Therefore, I felt that I should try making an Indian dish for her. That way, not only can she finally have someone to serve her her homeland’s food but at the same time, I can also put myself in her shoes when she tried cooking a foreign culture’s food. Thus, I decided to show my appreciation for everything she has done for my family through a home cooked meal for her.