2005 December
Introduction
2005 draws to a close on a high note for TWC2:
We're making progress. This is laying down a strong basis for our work in 2006.
2005 draws to a close on a high note for TWC2:
- The International Migrants Day Sports Carnival attracted around 3000 people. It seems that they enjoyed it and even the weather turned out well for us. We benefited from the help of many volunteers over the weekend of 17th-18th December and of a wide range of partners and sponsors leading up to the event.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this such a success! - We made a constructive response to the appearance of the Human Rights Watch report on foreign domestic workers in Singapore and to the MOM's own response.
- Two new publications are out: a help line card and a membership leaflet.
- We've got a new office arranged, which we've taken on for an initial period of a year.
We're making progress. This is laying down a strong basis for our work in 2006.
'Where to Get Help'
A wallet-sized brochure with contact details for a range of bodies that can help migrant workers has been produced. It is available in English and Bahasa Indonesia. Many were distributed at the IMD Sports Carnival. We need to get them into the hands of more workers, so if you can take any for distribution, please let the office know. We'll be looking for opportunities to pass around more, particularly to those who may need them most.
Helpful Phonecard
Singtel is co-operating with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to produce phonecards that will help to inform foreign workers of their rights, 'Straits Times' reported on 19th December ('Phonecard to help protect workers' rights').
The card is due to be launched in January, said Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Manpower. It will carry brief messages about the workers' rights, as well as an MOM hotline number for those seeking help.
This is an imaginative way of reaching out to workers. It adds to a growing array of efforts being made to help workers to find advice and assistance when they are experiencing problems.
This still brings us back to a question that TWC2 keeps on stressing: that of time off. The phonecard can only be useful to those who can obtain it; women who are confined to the home throughout their period of working in Singapore, or only allowed out in the company of their employer, may well not have the opportunity to buy a card. Some are even prevented from using a 'phone in the first place. Without days off, guaranteed by law or regulation, such women will remain vulnerable to other forms of mistreatment and without adequate means of seeking help.
De-Stress
It's interesting sometimes to reflect upon what advice we receive about our own well-being and then
apply it to migrant workers.
For example, check out what medical advice columns in newspapers and magazines say about sleep. We're all different, goes the advice, but most of us seem to need seven to eight hours - yet there are employers who think it quite reasonable to keep their workers going until close to midnight and then want them up again at five or six to wash a car and get children ready for school.
On December 12th, 'The Sunday Times' had a feature on the problem of stress, which can be life-threatening. It wound up with 'De-Stress', by Gerard Yeo. He quotes from a website (www.familydoctor.org) that offers medical advice from the American Academy of Family Physicians:
Good advice, but what would it mean to a woman working sixteen hours or more a day, seven days a week, for an easily irritated employer?
'Why aren't you ironing?'
'I'm just doing some deep breathing exercises, ma'am.'
'Why haven't you finished polishing the floor?'
'I'm trying to set realistic goals in whatever I do - besides, I need my shut-eye!'
It's worth more thought, as the level of stress for many domestic workers is high, and the consequences, we know, can be very serious indeed.
A wallet-sized brochure with contact details for a range of bodies that can help migrant workers has been produced. It is available in English and Bahasa Indonesia. Many were distributed at the IMD Sports Carnival. We need to get them into the hands of more workers, so if you can take any for distribution, please let the office know. We'll be looking for opportunities to pass around more, particularly to those who may need them most.
Helpful Phonecard
Singtel is co-operating with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to produce phonecards that will help to inform foreign workers of their rights, 'Straits Times' reported on 19th December ('Phonecard to help protect workers' rights').
The card is due to be launched in January, said Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Manpower. It will carry brief messages about the workers' rights, as well as an MOM hotline number for those seeking help.
This is an imaginative way of reaching out to workers. It adds to a growing array of efforts being made to help workers to find advice and assistance when they are experiencing problems.
This still brings us back to a question that TWC2 keeps on stressing: that of time off. The phonecard can only be useful to those who can obtain it; women who are confined to the home throughout their period of working in Singapore, or only allowed out in the company of their employer, may well not have the opportunity to buy a card. Some are even prevented from using a 'phone in the first place. Without days off, guaranteed by law or regulation, such women will remain vulnerable to other forms of mistreatment and without adequate means of seeking help.
De-Stress
It's interesting sometimes to reflect upon what advice we receive about our own well-being and then
apply it to migrant workers.
For example, check out what medical advice columns in newspapers and magazines say about sleep. We're all different, goes the advice, but most of us seem to need seven to eight hours - yet there are employers who think it quite reasonable to keep their workers going until close to midnight and then want them up again at five or six to wash a car and get children ready for school.
On December 12th, 'The Sunday Times' had a feature on the problem of stress, which can be life-threatening. It wound up with 'De-Stress', by Gerard Yeo. He quotes from a website (www.familydoctor.org) that offers medical advice from the American Academy of Family Physicians:
- Don't worry about the things you can't control, like the weather.
- Prepare for events you know might be stressful, such as a job interview.
- Think positive: Look at change as a challenge, not a threat.
- Resolve any conflicts you may have with others.
- Have a strong network of family and friends you can rely on.
- Set realistic goals in whatever you do.
- Get enough sleep.
- Do deep breathing exercises when you encounter a stressful event.
- Exercise regularly; engage in hobbies.
Good advice, but what would it mean to a woman working sixteen hours or more a day, seven days a week, for an easily irritated employer?
'Why aren't you ironing?'
'I'm just doing some deep breathing exercises, ma'am.'
'Why haven't you finished polishing the floor?'
'I'm trying to set realistic goals in whatever I do - besides, I need my shut-eye!'
It's worth more thought, as the level of stress for many domestic workers is high, and the consequences, we know, can be very serious indeed.