Daily Lesson from Life 16 February 2009

"Foreign workers seek help
About 50 workers gathered outside Ministry of Manpower after their employers went bankrupt. -Reuters -->
Mon, Feb 16, 2009

SOME 50 unemployed Bangladeshi migrant workers gathered in front of Singapore's Ministry of Manpower on Monday, urging the government to give them work and help retrieve overdue pay from previous employers.


The shipyard workers said they were promised new jobs by ministry officials when they were moved out of their employers' dormitories after their firms went bankrupt and could not pay them.

'No job, no money, only eating and sleeping,' said Mr Tutul Abdul Manan, a 31-year-old who said he gave up his temporary job with the government in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and paid some $9,000 for a brokerage fee to work in Singapore.

The Bangladeshi migrants were allowed to meet officials after an hour of waiting. 'We are trying to help them negotiate with their employer discreetly. But they have become more and more savvy by inviting the media here,' one government official said at the gathering.

Singapore's construction, shipyard and manufacturing industries were once red hot, hiring almost 800,000 migrants in 2007. But as the economy slid into recession last year, demand for labour dived and major projects were cancelled or delayed.


Human rights groups say many of the world's estimated 100 million migrant workers are in dire predicaments as economic woes in the Gulf, Singapore and Taiwan lead to mass layoffs of labourers from across Asia."

Migrant workers everywhere seems to always get the short end of the stick and unethical treatment! Be it is India, China, and even Singapore!

Lessons for me are:

1. as an ethical employer, you have to have the fundamental value that: 'it is easy to hire but difficult to fire'. Not because of the legal liabilities or the potential messiness of parting BUT because you are dealing with a fellow human being. With is value, one will hire carefully in order to avoid having to lay off workers;

2. in the pursuit of lower cost labour, and competent labour force, the economical consideration must be taken in perspective of the fundamental value I mentioned earlier. i.e. it is not just the lower cost but to consider does the 'lower wages' paid to these workers will give them a decent living quality? I know this is hard to achieve but I am sure we know what is UNREASONABLE living quality. e.g. 30 people packed into a 10x10 sq ft space! not paying for insurance! etc;

3. the leaders will be very transparent with the workers if they are on contract basis. To make sure that everyone knows what is their rights and obligations clearly! When there is a disagreement, to have an independent and impartial party to mediate and work things out.

Singapore will see more foreign workers seeking help from the authority for actions that are not befitting a great nation like Singapore should have. So, Singapore employers must come on board on the principles I shared here. Be honest and be ethical! Treat the workers with respect you would have given to any fellow human being! They are not just tools we can use and discard with impunity!