Article Title - Accommodating the Spread – Migrant Worker Accommodation Driving COVID Infections (Part-2)
Source - Institute for Human Rights and Business
Authors - Guna Subramaniam
Date - July 23, 2020
Link- Click Here for the Article
Summary
This article is second in the five part series on the range of challenges faced by migrant workers in South East Asia as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first part discusses an overview of the challenges and the subsequent articles in the series focus on accommodation conditions; discriminatory attitudes towards migrant workers; exorbitant recruitment fees and wage theft; and the impact of dwindling remittances.
This piece discusses the sub-standard living conditions observed in migrant workers’ dormitories, in several South East Asian countries and the Gulf states. Many workers are compelled to live in temporary housing on work sites or poorly ventilated cramped rooms shared among 20-30 people with alternate day and night shifts. Such living conditions cannot ensure the self-isolation, hygiene and health-related precautions necessary during the pandemic.
The article highlights that architects, property developers, dormitory operators, construction companies, and other businesses need to pay attention to the living situation of their migrant labourers. The article introduces the case of Singapore where infections spurred among migrant workers’ dormitories which called for an immediate response. Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of National Development (MND) announced new regulations for building temporary and permanent structures with increased living space to house thousands of migrant workers in the coming years.
The article also points out that while these steps should be scaled up, they also need to be coupled with solutions for other concerns such as high recruitment fees, low wages, job security, and access to health care in order to ensure a better quality of life.