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SINGAPORE – The government will foot the bill for the increased operating costs incurred by dorm operators due to dorm closings and home stay notices imposed on some 300,000 foreign workers in Singapore.
Restricted movement measures confining this group in their places of residence have resulted in additional costs, as dormitory operators reported an increase in utility bills and difficulties in finding labor to support sanitation and measures. safe spacing required.
Responding to questions from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Human Resources (MOM) said on Monday (May 11) that the Government will offset the increase in operating costs for operators of custom-built bedrooms, factory-converted bedrooms and rooms. construction storms due to the longer hours workers now spend in their residences.
These include additional costs for labor, cleaning, maintenance, utilities, and infrastructure incurred due to restrictions imposed on workers as part of efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19 in dorms.
However, the support is only temporary and “in view of the current Covid-19 infections in the dorms,” the ministry said.
MOM said: “When support is finally withdrawn, it will be necessary for bedroom operators to recoup many of these additional costs from their tenants.”
According to a notice sent to bedroom operators last week, support will last until the end of the circuit breaker to be lifted on June 1.
To obtain subsidies, dorm operators will need to provide receipts for their “business as usual” expenses, as well as for the months that saw the highest operating costs.
To qualify, dorm operators will also be required to state that they did not increase rental rates throughout the switch period.
The subsidies are a relief to dormitory operators as many have had to expand cleaning, security and administrative operations and take on new tasks, such as shipping food, often on short notice.
Operators ST spoke to in the past few days said they experienced an increase in operating costs but would not increase rental rates.
Stephen Ong of Draco Venture, which operates North Coast Lodge, was initially concerned about rising overhead.
In the past two months, the specially designed bedroom near Woodlands that houses 7,000 residents has seen its utility bills double. Garbage disposal costs have also increased sevenfold, said Mr. Ong.
The pandemic forced a sharp learning curve in bedroom operators, said Kong Chee Min, CEO of Centurion Corporation, which manages Westlite bedrooms.
It has not been easy to employ additional manpower in the bedrooms on such short notice, especially since they are considered high risk locations. Centurion has instead employed some of its residents to help, Kong said.
The risk of Covid-19 infection has also prompted the resignation of some of the Labourtel Management Corporation employees in its four specially designed bedrooms, said director Shaik Mohamed.
“We have staff facing increased pressure from their families not to report to work given the risks and we have also had a good number of resignations,” he said.
These fears were not unwarranted. Three of the North Coast Lodge staff members have already tested positive for the coronavirus and one of them is over 60, Mr. Ong said.
“Our team members can never be compensated for the risk of life-threatening infection they are taking every day,” he added.
Foreign workers living in dormitories account for the vast majority of Covid-19 cases in Singapore. There were 486 new cases in Singapore on Monday, bringing the total count to 23,822.
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