The horrific death of a migrant domestic worker has highlighted these workers’ vulnerability at the hands of abusive employers. The wider community also has a part to play in preventing and reporting suspected abuse. This morning (8 March 2021), I asked the Minister for Manpower a number of questions on this matter:
1. What education is currently provided to the employers of migrant domestic workers about duties of care and behaviour that may constitute abuse?
2. What recourse do domestic workers and bystanders have should they experience or witness abuse?
3. What is being done to actively reduce abuse and review such frameworks for improvement?
There is currently a six-monthly medical examination which, according to the MOM website, screens for pregnancy and infectious diseases. In her reply to me, Minister of State Gan Siow Huang said that doctors also check for signs of abuse. In response, I asked her further supplementary questions:
4. What are the professional or legal consequences for doctors who fail to report suspected abuse of their migrant domestic worker patients? Are there plans to increase the penalties for non-reporting?
5. Does MOM screen prospective employers of FDWs for potential red flags in for example, past incidents of violent behaviour, police reports made against them, and so on?
6. How would an abused domestic worker who has no phone or off-day report their abuse?
Her answers will be published in the Parliament Hansard.
