'Serious risk' of virus spread in more worker dorms: MOM

Singapore

THE Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is stepping up checks on foreign workers who live in converted factory areas, as it warned on Monday that they are at serious risk from the coronavirus that has claimed nine lives here.

"There is serious risk of widespread outbreak in your facility," the MOM said, in an advisory to employers who house workers in factory-converted dormitories or temporary quarters on or near construction sites.

Noting a recent rise in Covid-19 cases among foreign work-pass holders who live in such areas, the MOM has now tightened guidelines for employers and operators during the month-long "circuit breaker" to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

For instance, bosses should have meals catered so workers can minimise time spent out of their quarters - although they can still leave their residences to get essential goods and services, such as remitting money.

Residents should also stay in their own rooms as much as they can, and not mingle with neighbours from other blocks - or even other floors.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

SGSME

Get updates on Singapore's SME community, along with profiles, news and tips.

Sign Up

At factory-converted dormitories - industrial or warehouse properties that have been partially converted into worker housing - the MOM also urged owners and operators to "pay special attention to the management of their dormitories well" during the circuit breaker, which ends on May 4.

If needed, the MOM will support operators in implementing measures, the ministry said. It will work with the Migrant Workers' Centre, which is a tie-up between the National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers' Federation.

But the MOM also warned that it would crack down on bosses or workers with "irresponsible practices and behaviour", such as not paying salaries promptly. So far, the MOM has unearthed "minor lapses" at 57 factory-converted dorms and revoked the work passes of 24 people found flouting rules against eating, drinking and gathering in groups in the Tuas area.

While factory-converted dormitories, on-site housing, and other forms of accommodation are still allowed, regulatory shifts "will help increase the anticipated demand" for purpose-built dorms, CGS-CIMB analyst Ngoh Yi Sin told The Business Times.

Still, purpose-built worker housing have also fallen under scrutiny, with Singapore's biggest Covid-19 cluster in S11 Dormitory @ Punggol. The dormitory in Seletar North Link had 586 of the country's 2,918 confirmed cases as of Monday night.

The latest measures come after an eighth foreign workers' dormitory was gazetted as an isolation area under the Infectious Diseases Act on Sunday, up from just two the week before. Residents in these isolation areas are not allowed to go to work or even to move between blocks.

Singapore has 43 dormitories licensed under the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act, which regulates facilities with 1,000 or more residents, and about 1,200 factory-converted dormitories. The MOM did not state how many temporary living quarters are operating at construction sites.