Page 49 - ASPRI 2122 v2

DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2021/2022
And to keep costs down the company has to continue using government operated dormitories, as private ones would cost more.
ASPRI’s Mr Goh said that fortunately plant owners are well aware of the predicament of PCM companies and have been very cooperative in helping ASPRI members to mitigate the challenges faced in carrying out their work during the pandemic.
All the companies interviewed are grateful for the Government’s support in the form of the Job Support Scheme, migrant workers levy and rebates, given during the critical months before dormitory workers could resume work in the latter part of 2020. They have helped to save jobs and keep the companies afloat.
The new normal
of pandemic-proof dormitories & measures
More than 16 months have passed since the coronavirus thrust the process migrant workers’ dormitories into the spotlight. With the workers living at close quarters, they were the ground zero in Singapore’s battle against the dreaded virus. At its height, over 1,000 new Covid-19 cases were identified in the dormitories every day.
After the first cluster at S11 @ Punggol surfaced on 30 March 2020, the Government introduced concerted measures involving multiple ministries and agencies, to bring down the number of infections. By October, the case count was close to zero, and in the following month, 98% of the workers were able to resume work.
In total, nearly half of the more than 320,000 migrant workers from various industries living in dormitories had tested positive by December for Covid-19 through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or serology tests, or both.
The Government’s efforts in the latter half of 2020 to build community recovery facilities
(CRFs) to house recovered workers “to minimise the risks of recurrent transmissions” had helped immensely.
It also announced plans to implement a programme “to build additional dormitories with higher standards over the coming months and years”.
Even though the worst appears to be over, the Government continues to exercise caution with good reasons though it has not gone down well with PCM firms who have to put up with constraints on their workers’ movements. There were occasional infections of a few workers in 2021 up to July, mostly discovered through routine testing. Pre-emptive testing was also carried out at dormitories that had infections, to prevent further spread.
Before 2021 draws to a close, the Government plans to bring all dormitories under the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (Feda). This will enable MOM to implement a consistent framework of housing standards across dormitories, with common requirements that apply across the board in areas such as cleanliness, space and ventilation.
All dormitories at present are subject to a set of requirements established by various Government agencies to cover areas from building and fire safety to minimum living and hygiene standards. However, bigger dorms that accommodate 1,000 or more have to abide by Feda regulations which govern areas such as public health and safety, security and public order, and provision of social and commercial facilities and services.
Currently, 50 large dormitories are regulated by Feda, which came into force in 2016, while the many temporary quarters at construction sites or converted industrial spaces are not.
New dormitory and bedding arrangements will help to prevent large scale infections in the future, which is expected to face new virus outbreaks arising from climate change.
In the meantime, efforts also have been made to improve the migrant workers’ living conditions as well. Aimed at making them pandemic-proof, the new dormitories will be more spacious with fewer occupants sharing the same room. Under the proposed plan, each resident will have six square metres or more per resident, excluding communal areas, and the number of residents in each room will be capped at 10. The rooms will also have ensuite showers and toilets to reduce the risk of infection. The blocks will also be spaced out for improved ventilation.
In addition, the new dormitories will have more amenities, such as minimarts, barber services and indoor recreation facilities, and residents will have ready access to medical care. Details are due to be finalised by the latter part of 2021.
This is an improvement over earlier minimum requirement of 4.5 square metres space per resident, including shared facilities, with no cap on the number of residents per room.
In late 2020, the government began building interim Quick Build Dormitories (QBDs) to reduce the density of residents in dormitories. In all, 15 QBDs housing will be built to accommodate about 25,000 workers. They are meant to be used for two or three years.
In addition, the Government plans to build 11 new purpose-built dormitories (PBDs) over the next one to two years to house up to 100,000 workers. Existing facilities will also be upgraded to meet the new standards.
The new model has been piloted with QBDs. The QBD at Tuas Avenue 2 for instance is developed by the JTC Corporation and leased and managed by Westlite Accommodation. This would allow the Government to make changes to dormitories should the need arise.
Meanwhile, costs are expected to go up for dormitories that come with better amenities and
43