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SINGAPORE: A blockade imposed in Singapore to stop the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus) has led to a higher incidence of domestic workers being overworked or abused, according to a group that operates a helpline for migrant workers.
The Humanitarian Organization for the Migrant Economy (HOME) said on Friday (May 15) that calls to the helpline increased by 25% since the restrictions were introduced on April 7, called “switches “By the government, most companies closed, forcing Singaporeans to work from home.
In turn, some domestic workers, often young women from neighboring countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, face “longer hours of work as employers are at home almost all hours of the day, leading to increased housework and caring, “said HOME. .
According to HOME, workers reported that employers had prevented them from going outdoors and denied them access to mobile phones.
Other accounts suggest that employers facing financial or work difficulties stemming from the blockade had withheld wages.
HOME said the pandemic and blockade have “disproportionately affected” some of the city-state’s nearly 1.4 million foreign workers.
Some 26,098 people in Singapore have been infected with Covid-19, according to data from the Ministry of Health. More than 24,000 are migrants.
While domestic workers have not faced such direct exposure to the virus, “their situation is invisible in the private sphere of their employers’ homes,” said HOME. – dpa
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