Singapore strikes shed light on workers' woes

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http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/12/20121219101942542403.html

After 26 years without a strike, labour unrest over low wages and appalling living conditions has roiled Singapore - drawing attention to the country's often-exploited migrant worker community.

Over the past month, several groups of Chinese migrant workers staged labour strikes, protests and sit-ins. Similarly, in February, a group of 200 Bangladeshi construction workers launched a seven-hour sit-out to protest unpaid salaries and the dismal food served by their employers.

In response to a strike of 171 Chinese bus drivers in November, the Singaporean government deported 29 people and imposed $2,000 fines and jail terms for several others for instigating "illegal" action.

Singapore's acting minister for manpower, Tan Chuan-Jin, criticised the bus drivers' strike, saying, "We have zero tolerance for such unlawful action because disrupted essential services not only affected the workers in the industry, but also affect the daily life of all in the community."

Singapore is home to nearly 1.5 million foreigners, many of whom provide cheap, menial labour in the construction, shipyard, transportation and garbage refuse industries - positions often shunned by affluent citizens.

While the government has publicly defended its immigration policies as "adaptive" and "practical", Singapore's Manpower Ministry recently pledged it would do more to help foreign workers in an effort to silence critics such as the Humane Organisation for Migrant Economics.

The group has questioned Singapore's way of dealing with migrant worker issues. Founder Bridget Tan has called on authorities to review management policies that discriminate against migrant workers.

Political campaigns in the country have often drawn on anti-foreigner sentiment, calling for limits on the number of foreign workers in an attempt to win votes from disgruntled Singaporeans. Stories of foreigners misbehaving or committing crimes are often played up by the Singapore media, which in turn tends to spark xenophobic comments online.

In 2008, the government's proposal to build a foreign workers' dormitory in the middle of Serangoon Gardens, an affluent residential estate, drew a huge outcry from residents in the area. To allay their concerns, the dormitory was fenced off and trees were planted to hide it from view. The exit leading to the neighbourhood was also sealed.

Mrs Tan, a resident who has lived in the area for more than 20 years - who requested her first name not be used in this article - lives in a house overlooking the site. She said she has to shut her windows and doors at night to avoid hearing noise coming from migrant workers who "fight among themselves" and disturb her peace.

She even switched political sides during last year's election, blaming her previous parliamentary representative for not addressing residents' concerns about the dormitory.

"Until today, I'm still not happy that they are here. But what can I do?"