Thread by @kixes

THREAD

It's been a crappy time in general but migrant workers have borne the brunt of the suffering from #COVID19 in #Singapore. In this piece for @thenation I argue that the changes that need to happen must go far beyond tweaks to dormitory standards. thenation.com/article/world/…

I referenced this report by @IsabelleLimCNA, where a migrant worker likened being in isolation to being in jail, and NGO HealthServe said some of the workers in isolation weren't allowed "to even crack open a window just to have a breath of fresh air".

Also read @incoherentboy's report on concerns over mental health and stress among dormitory residents, after a series of attempted suicides and workers who have taken their own lives. sg.news.yahoo.com/at-breaking-po…

This is the feature I wrote for #wethecitizens (Chinese version on @initiumnews) about #COVID19 in the dorms back in April. A worker told me about all the stress they were under then; we didn't imagine this state of affairs would last for months. wethecitizens.substack.com/p/wtc-long-rea…

Even though dorms have been mostly cleared of #COVID19, workers are subjected to restrictions & surveillance. They need to download apps for monitoring and contact tracing, which is why ItsRainingRaincoats is collecting phones (not all workers have phones that can run these apps)

It was recently flagged that some workers would be housed in temporary quarters on their construction site, and will be required to remain there until the job is done (in the 3rd quarter of 2021!!!)

NGOs like @home_migrantssg and @twc2sg have also objected to rules inserted into the work pass conditions that say workers can only leave their dorms with the consent of their employers: home.org.sg/statements/202… There is no clarity on how long these restrictions will be in place.

Fighting #COVID19 has required measures that most of us couldn't have imagined or consented to less than a year ago. But migrant workers have suffered many more restrictions and much poorer conditions than anyone else in #Singapore. And it's still ongoing.

There are people who say that these migrant workers are "lucky" to be in #Singapore, where they are receiving better care than in other countries (and the comparison tends to be against the lowest bar, rather than best practices). But this is a situation that *we* put them in.

This is the study I referenced in my @thenation piece that found that "Spatial factors which increased the odds of acquiring dengue was residing at a foreign workers dormitory or hostel..." link.springer.com/article/10.118…

The government is now piloting new dormitory standards that will reduce the maximum number of workers in a room, and switch bunk beds for single beds + increase number of toilet, bathroom, and sick bay facilities. But we need to go much further. channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore…

We need to fundamentally change the way we look at labour and rights. We have a system where workers are pitted against other workers in the pursuit of economic growth, even though it's been shown that "trickle-down economics" doesn't work. thenation.com/article/world/…

Politicians often use frontliners as shields in the face of criticism. In early April, Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo asked that people not demoralise hardworking civil servants with "finger-pointing" about the handling of #COVID19 in the dorms: facebook.com/Josephine.LM.T…

Civil servants have been working round-the-clock during #COVID19, and dealing with outbreaks in dorms housing over 320k men is a *massive* undertaking. But the issue isn't merely one of administration/bureaucracy; it's a political problem that will require political will to fix.

There were people dumping on civil servants, sure, but a lot of the criticism was/is about the policies and politics. "My team on the ground is working really hard!" doesn't cut it when we're talking about systemic and structural problems.

ADDENDUMS FROM THIS POINT ON ⬇️
That the dorms have been "cleared" of #COVID19 doesn't mark an end to confinement of migrant workers. The authorities have found cases in dorms that were considered cleared, resulting in thousands going back into quarantine. sg.news.yahoo.com/7000-migrant-w…