Humans Aren't Cargo

The following letter was published by The Online Citizen on 15 December 2010. Mr K Shanmugam Minister for Home Affairs and Law New Phoenix Park 28 Irrawaddy Road Singapore 329560 Dear Mr Shanmugam, Permit Application Nos PP/20101125/003 and PP/20101128/001 Pursuant to Section 6 of the Public Order Act 2009 – An Appeal under Section 11 of the Public Order Act 2009 We write to express our regret that the above applications for permits to conduct a vehicle procession and to distribute flyers on Saturday 18th December have been rejected. These activities are to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families which falls on 18th December. Migrant workers who are transported in the open decks of lorries are vulnerable to traffic accidents which may lead to injury and even death. Such tragedies have been widely reported in the media and discussed in Parliament. To raise awareness of the danger...

The following article was published in TODAY on 15 Dec 2010. No go for International Migrants Day by Cheow Xin Yi TODAY, Dec 15, 2010 SINGAPORE - The police have rejected applications by civil society groups Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) to hold activities commemorating International Migrants Day on Saturday. The groups wanted to hold a vehicle procession to raise awareness of the dangers of migrant workers being transported on the back of lorries as well as to distribute flyers to raise awareness of the United Nations Convention for the protection of migrant workers, which the Singapore Government has not ratified. When contacted by MediaCorp, a police spokesperson said: "The permit applications were not approved due to law and order considerations. The police have advised the two NGOs to hold their activities within the confines of the Speakers' Corner instead." Home executive director Jolovan Wham feels ...

The following photograph and accompanying text was posted on STOMP on 22 August 2010. STOMPer dazzlaser was travelling along the ECP recently when he saw foreign workers being transported on a lorry, huddled under an umbrella that offered little protection from the thunderstorm. He thinks that the employer needs to show more welfare to them. The STOMPer wrote: "Last Fri, 20 Aug, I was driving on the ECP when there was a heavy downpour in the morning. "Saw these foreign workers carrying umbrellas travelling on a lorry. "The employer should be fined for mistreating his employees like animals. "This isn't the way to ferry workers in bad weather. "All of them must have been drenched. "Very ashamed to be a Singaporean."

The following AFP story was published in the Straits Times on 18 August 2010. Focus on worker safety Aug 18, 2010 SINGAPORE - ALAM Khali can still remember vividly how he feared for his safety whenever he squatted on the back of an open-topped lorry while being ferried to construction sites in Singapore. Squashed in with other foreign labourers, the 40-year-old Bangladeshi said he clung on to whatever part of the lorry he could get his hands on as the vehicle made its way around the wealthy city-state. 'Of course scared, but boss says take lorry, we take,' Mr Khali, who has been working in Singapore since 2003, shrugged in an interview at a hotel construction site while having a lunch of plain vegetables and white rice. Thanks to a new boss, Mr Khali now gets a stipend to travel by subway to work, but most of the estimated 245,000 foreign construction workers from poorer Asian countries are not so lucky. Transported around like cattle even under pouring rain, the workers are a ...

Posters designed by Isaac Tng (sixmoredays@gmail.com) The following statement was posted by TWC2, a local migrant worker welfare organization, on its website . Three Chinese workers died when a lorry in which they were being carried skidded and crashed onto its side on the morning of June 22nd. Some among the 14 survivors needed hospital treatment. The lorry crashed off the Pan-Island Expressway. TWC2 has argued strongly against transporting workers on the backs of lorries and trucks and in favour of transport in enclosed vehicles. Road safety measures are not only meant to prevent accidents, but to minimise the harm done when they do occur. If the 17 workers had been travelling in a coach or a minibus (preferably with seatbelts), would the outcome have been this serious? We think that is not likely. In an article on 'Safety on the Roads' that was published in the September-October 2007 issue of the TWC2 members' newsletter, our position was set out clearly: '(T)he prob...

The following article was published in the Straits Times on 27 July 2010. Ferrying workers: Do the right thing now By Jessica Cheam Straits Times, Jul 27, 2010 Big companies should show the way by not using open-top lorries ST cartoon SINGAPORE'S builders have had to overcome many challenges in recent years - from the sand crisis of 2007, to the manpower and materials crunch of 2008, and the property slump last year. But the most recent challenge they face could be the trickiest, for it has both moral and business implications: Employers are now being pressured to stop ferrying workers on the back of lorries. Debate on the issue was reignited by an accident last month where an open-top lorry transporting workers overturned on the Pan-Island Expressway, killing three workers and injuring 14. It was the worst accident since May last year, when four workers died after their vehicle slammed into a stationary trailer in Tuas. Several MPs spoke up on the issue in Parliament last week, ...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 26 July 2010. Cap lorry speed limit Straits Times, Jul 26, 2010 I READ with interest Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim's letter last Wednesday ("Speeding deaths: Consider capital punishment"). We read and listen to news of cars colliding, motorcycles careening off the road, and foreign workers being injured in lorry crashes. The bottom line is: speeding kills. Advertisements and campaigns have been launched to ingrain this into our minds but sadly, accidents still happen and innocent lives are lost. Singapore has in place speed traps and police lookouts to nab errant drivers. However, more needs to be done. The most pressing issue is that of lorries transporting foreign workers being driven recklessly at high speeds. What good would canopies and proper seating do for the passengers' safety? We should nip the problem in the bud by altering the maximum speed at which these vehicles can travel. If all lorries travel at a m...

The following article was published in the Straits Times on 21 July 2010. Tighter deadline for safer lorries taken in stride By Maria Almenoar Straits Times, Jul 21, 2010 Most firms have started retrofitting lorries to better protect workers MOST companies have already begun retrofitting their fleets of lorries or replacing their old vehicles so that they will comfortably meet the deadline for tightened safety requirements. Companies which have been using lorries to transport their foreign workers between worksites and their dormitories have, in the past year or so, been fitting their vehicles with higher side rails and canopies. They had been told last August that they had until September 2012 to install these fittings to prevent their workers from falling off the vehicles and protect them from inclement weather. But in the light of a continued run of accidents in the last two months in which workers were thrown off lorries, the Government has brought forward the deadline. Light lorri...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times on 20 July 2010. Ferrying workers: Cost should not be a factor Jul 20, 2010 I FULLY support Mr Robert J. Cochrane's suggestion last Friday ("Ferrying workers: Smokescreen regulations won't work") to provide a safer mode of transportation for foreign workers, such as buses. Under no circumstances should we allow cost considerations to outweigh the value of human lives. Each foreign worker is someone's father, husband, brother or son, and his life is as precious as ours. The higher cost of transportation should be factored into total business costs, and we should try to find a workable solution without compromising safety. It is an issue that involves the unions, the employers and the Government. Perhaps they can work together to resolve the issue once and for all. Tan Thiam Soon

The following article was published in the Straits Times on 20 July 2010. Tighter driving rules for foreign workers By Kor Kian Beng Straits Times, Jul 20, 2010 Lorry safety measures also brought forward Reproduced photo caption: Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced in Parliament yesterday that the deadline for lorries used to transport foreign workers to be retrofitted with canopies and higher side railings has been brought forward from September 2012 to Feb 1 next year for light lorries, and Aug 1 next year for heavy lorries. He also announced that a new licensing scheme with more stringent conditions for foreign worker drivers was in the works. -- ST PHOTO: MALCOLM KOH THE Government will be more stringent in issuing driving licences to foreign workers. It will also step up enforcement against foreign worker drivers who flout safety rules by speeding or driving recklessly, and may also take legal action against them and their employers. The Transport Ministry has also brought fo...

The following article was published in TODAY on 20 July 2010. Safety measures to kick in earlier TODAY, Jul 20, 2010 SINGAPORE - New safety measures for lorries carrying workers - instead of being implemented in 2012 - will be introduced in February, following the recent deaths of three workers. Transport Minister Raymond Lim told Parliament yesterday that light lorries have to be fitted with canopies and higher side railings by Feb 1 next year, while heavy lorries have until Aug 1 next year to comply. He said 75 per cent of such fatal accidents involve light lorries. When compared to heavier lorries, workers on light ones are more likely to be hurt so the Ministry of Transport (MOT) decided that such lorries need to be retrofitted first, said Mr Lim. In addition, both light and heavy lorries have to double minimum deck space requirement per seated worker from 4 to 8 square feet by August next year. On June 22, three Chinese nationals died when the lorry they were travelling in skidded...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 16 July 2010. Ferrying workers: Smokescreen regulations won't work Jul 16, 2010 I WAS an audit director for the Transport Accidents Commission of the state of Victoria in Australia, and I have seen thousands of files on traffic and transport accidents. When I first took up my role in Singapore two years ago, I was shocked that workers were crammed into open-top vehicles designed solely for the transport of materials. This situation seems incongruous with Singapore's image as a safe place to work. Government plans ('Worker-transport safety rules may come sooner'; June 26) to alleviate risk will make no difference to worker death or injury in the case of a major accident. The Government did not mention any improvement in the securing of workers in the vehicles, or in overhead roll protection. Instead of designing smokescreen regulations, like the proposed rule to increase space per worker in the back of open...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 16 July 2010. Safety first for army trucks Jul 16, 2010 I REFER to Mr Tan Lek Lek's letter ("Banning lorries for transport is wrong"; July 2). I used to work in a transport unit in the army and there are many safety considerations when it comes to putting soldiers on the trucks and even smaller jeeps. For instance, all trucks are fitted with seat belts and proper secured benches. They are also covered with a steel superstructure and canvas, which protect passengers against the elements and also minimise the danger of passengers tumbling out in the event that the truck tips over. In the case of the jeeps, when there is no overhead cover, all passengers and the driver are required to wear helmets. Outside of training and regular operational purposes - for example, National Day Parade rehearsals - soldiers are usually ferried in commercial buses, while the trucks are used for transporting stores. I think if sim...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times on 8 July 2010. No exceptions when it comes to transport safety Jul 8, 2010 I REFER to Mr Tan Lek Lek's letter last Friday ("Banning lorries for transport is wrong"). Essentially, if we measure a policy only by economic impact, then it would make economic sense to use lorries for public transport as well. After all, lorries can take more passengers than school buses and taxis. The question is why safety overrides economic impact when we are talking about transporting office workers, children, executives and factory workers - while foreign labourers are exempt. The question of practicality is important, but what the Government can do is to look at subsidies and incentives for implementing safe transport. It is up to industries and the authorities to marshal the effort and resources to come up with a solution. If we are really that concerned with safety, it should be safety for everyone, not just those who can afford i...

The following article was published in the Straits Times on 7 July 2010. 368 lorry drivers booked By Maria Almenoar Straits Times, Jul 7, 2010 Reproduced photo caption: In addition to stepped-up enforcement efforts, LTA is considering doing more to improve the safety of lorries on our roads. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG A TWO-week enforcement exercise to catch errant lorries flouting safety rules involving workers netted 386 lorries, or 10 per cent of those checked. Traffic Police also caught 122 drivers for offences such as speeding, failing to wear seat belt and failing to keep left. The blitz was carried out jointly by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Traffic Police (TP) at Kaki Bukit, Pioneer Road, Tuas and Woodlands. Offences include carrying more passengers than they should, not filling up front passenger seats first and not displaying a maximum passenger capacity label among others. The safety of workers while being ferried on lorries has been in the spotlight again recently...

The following article was published in TODAY on 7 July 2010. Enforcement checks show 1 in 10 lorries flout rules by Dylan Loh TODAY Jul 07, 2010 Reproduced photo caption: An LTA enforcement officer issuing a summons to a lorry driver who displayed an incorrect Maximum Passenger Capacity label. KOH MUI FONG SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Traffic Police have stepped up enforcement checks on lorries in view of recent fatal accidents. In all, 368 lorries were found to have flouted safety rules over a two-week period. MediaCorp joined one such operation in the west of Singapore early yesterday morning. In the darkness before daybreak, enforcement officers guided lorries suspected of safety violations into a heavy vehicle park along Pioneer Road at the Tuas industrial area. Enforcement officers in white inspected the vehicles closely. A summon of fines was issued to every driver who was found flouting regulations. One lorry had a Maximum Passenger Capacity label of 27 di...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 6 July 2010. Ferrying workers by lorry: Cost not a reason Jul 6, 2010 IN HIS letter last Friday ('Banning lorries for transport is wrong'), Mr Tan Lek Lek implied that foreign workers should not be treated differently from national servicemen who are transported in lorries. He suggested that the lorries used to transport national servicemen were similar to the ones ferrying foreign workers to and from their workplaces. This is not true. National servicemen are transported in trucks with canopies as well as seatbelts. Foreign workers are transported in lorries without seat belts and often without canopies too. Despite the new policies from the Land Transport Authority, there is a lack of enforcement on the roads to deter errant drivers from using open-top trucks to ferry workers around. Second, Mr Tan suggests that high costs will not entice companies to hire buses. One strategy to consider is to collectively seek ...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 2 July 2010. Introduce speed limiters for goods vehicles Jul 2, 2010 I SHARE the sentiments of Mr Stewart Sanjay in his letter last Saturday ("Speeding by lorry drivers the deadliest danger"). Mr Sanjay was spot-on when he mentioned that speeding is the main cause of most accidents involving heavy vehicles. To be fair, however, only a handful of drivers are guilty of speeding. These days, foreign nationals, mainly from China and India, are employed by companies to transport goods and passengers. These drivers lack experience in handling heavy vehicles and worse, are unfamiliar with our roads. They speed and take evasive action by jamming on the brake suddenly, resulting in an increasing number of vehicles overturning. Perhaps the authorities should consider making it compulsory for goods vehicles and heavy vehicles to be fitted with speed limiters. Drivers should also attend defensive driving courses before bein...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 2 July 2010. Banning lorries for transport is wrong Jul 2, 2010 THE current obsession with banning lorries from transporting workers following a recent fatal accident is unreasonable. The issue of transporting workers in such vehicles should be considered in a balanced way, and we need to take into account the needs of all the concerned parties. For instance, if army personnel can be transported by lorries, why not workers? Many jumped to hasty conclusions following the fatal accident on June 22, in which three foreign workers died after the lorry they were in skidded and crashed off the Pan-Island Expressway. Many who are pressing for a ban on using such vehicles to transport workers do not understand the practicalities of operating a small business. The immediate consequence of restricting worker transport to buses or vans for small construction and service companies is a sharp spike in costs, as these firms are forced ...

This letter was published in The New Paper on 1 July 2010. Worker safety a top priority From reader Arthur Lim The New Paper, 1 July 2010 I refer to the recent lorry accidents involving foreign workers. Singapore prides herself on being No.1 in so many areas. Yet we allow human beings to be transported on the back of lorries. Madam Halimah Yacob, the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, has stated that ideally, these workers should be ferried by buses. Even if that rule is not enforced, perhaps the Land Transport Authority and the Ministry of Manpower should explain why employers have been given such a long time to use lorries that comply with the new regulations. Does it take three years to modify the existing lorries to meet these safety requirements? Yes, this will add to costs for the employers, but they should factor that in when they submit tenders for projects. They should not put in a low bid then cut corners, compromising the safety of workers. A de...

This letter, sent to the Straits Times forum, was not published in the newspaper. However, it was published by Transient Workers Count Too in its newsletter . Safe Transport for Workers Dear Editor, I have read about the topic of unsafe transportation of migrant workers on the back of trucks and I would like to share a little points that you could ponder upon before listening to what many might state is no issue at all. Firstly, consider that there is already a complete ban on transporting people on the back of trucks by some countries. Britain and Bahrain have issued this ban completely. 30 out of the 50 states of the US issue some restriction on how people are ferried on trucks. Secondly, consider the feasibility of the alternative, namely buses. I will quote here: “Mr Neo Tiam Beng, president of the Singapore School and Private Hire Bus Owners' Association says that the operators who run some 4,000 private buses for hire here have the capacity to provide transportation to forei...

The following article was published in the Straits Times on 29 June 2010. Getting street smart on worker transport safety Enhance safety now, but stop ferrying workers in lorries in the long run By Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent Straits Times, Jun 30, 2010 Image credit: ST LAST Tuesday, a Toyota Dyna lorry carrying Chinese construction workers skidded and overturned near the Thomson Road exit of the Pan-Island Expressway. Some workers - perched on the vehicle's open deck - were flung out. Three died. Fourteen were injured. Traffic accidents of this kind happen, but it is sad to see them recurring. The lorry flouted safety regulations by carrying more people than is allowed by law. And though it had railings, these obviously did not help. The incident led Members of Parliament and community workers to suggest that enhanced safety rules for lorries ferrying workers - announced last August - should kick in sooner than September 2012. By then, all lorries carrying workers must have h...

The following article was posted by The Online Citizen on June 28, 2010. TOC Special Feature: Safer transport – what are we waiting for? Story by Stephanie Chok / Video edited by Natalie Soh / Pictures by Stephanie Chok & Mykel Yee / Additional reporting by Patrick Chng / As a nation, we are wired, advanced and wealthy. So surely Singapore can find a better, safer yet financially feasible alternative to transporting humans on the cargo decks of lorries? It is illegal in China[1] and banned in Bahrain.[2] It shocks overseas guests,[3] including migrant workers from around the region who endure this mode of transport daily. Shen, a construction worker from China, says, “When I first arrived at Changi Airport, I was so impressed. Then a goods vehicle came to pick us up. I was shocked and felt very ill-at-ease, why is this company sending a goods vehicle to pick us up?” Construction worker, Yash, says that in India, people take buses (though they may not be luxurious) – if employers t...

The following article was published in the Straits Times on 28 June 2010. MPs to raise lorry safety in Parliament They also question if it is too easy for foreigners to get driving licence By Ng Kai Ling Straits Times, Jun 28, 2010 Reproduced photo caption: Some MPs want the Government to consider phasing out the use of lorries for ferrying workers altogether, in the long run. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM THE issue of using lorries to ferry workers will come up in Parliament next month, with three members of the House having already submitted questions on it. In the wake of the accident last week which killed three workers and injured 14, the Members of Parliament want the Transport Ministry to explain whether: - The previously announced safety measures, such as having higher side railings and canopies, can be enforced earlier than the planned Sept 1, 2012; - The measures announced last August are enough to ensure workers' safety; - It is too easy for foreigners who work as drivers ...

The following article was published in The New Paper on 27 June 2010. You have the power to protect them By Eugene Wee The New Paper 27 June 2010 Three foreign workers died earlier this week after the lorry transporting them lost control along the PIE near Thomson Road. And many called for the enhanced measures to protect such workers to be enforced now instead of 2012 as scheduled. But is this enough? Workers may be a little safer on the road, but what of the host of other problems that beset them? Many live in squalid dorms. Others are worked to the bone, hardly getting any time off. If they get injured or sick, some employers find every excuse in the book to get out of paying for their treatment. The reason for a lot of these happening is simple - we, as consumers, want everything as cheap as possible, If we continue to demand the cheapest option available, businesses will find ways to give it to us. Cost gets cut by putting a few more workers behind the lorry to reduce trips, shov...

This letter was published in TODAY on 26 June 2010. What price a worker's life? Ignoring safety will cost firms more in the long run Letter from Jolovan Wham Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics TODAY Jun 26, 2010 WE REFER to "Expedite timetable, train lorry drivers" (June 24). The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics agrees with Chairman for the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, Dr Lim Wee Kiak, that the deadline for employers to comply with the new transport regulations should be expedited. The Land Transport Authority has given employers until 2012 to install higher railings and canopies on their lorries. Do the lives of foreign workers which are lost during this period before the deadline not matter? Based on the press release issued last year when the new measures were announced, it is worth noting that the work group which recommended them did not have any union representatives or worker's groups on its committee. Theref...

The following letter was published in the Straits Times forum on 26 June 2010. Jun 26, 2010 WORKERS IN FATAL CRASH Parliament must act to ensure safety I REFER to Wednesday's report ('New safety rules should kick in sooner, many say'), and fully agree with Madam Halimah Yacob, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, that buses are the best way to transport workers. In fact, it should be the only way. Tuesday's fatal accident killed three foreign workers who were among a group of workers being transported in a lorry when the crash occurred. It seems clear enough that ferrying people on the back of lorries built to carry goods is dangerous. Installation of higher railings is ineffective when the lorry tips over or when another vehicle hits the side of the lorry. Tuesday's accident suggests that Parliament cannot maintain that its paramount aim is worker safety, and yet contradict itself by accepting that installing canopies and higher railings ...

The following letter was published in TODAY on 26 June 2010. Don't just look at cost Letter from Heng Chee How Executive Secretary, Building, Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (Batu) TODAY Jun 26, 2010 The Building, Construction and Timber Industries Employees' Union is troubled and dismayed by the injury and deaths of workers from accidents involving open-top vehicles, year after year. Workers have a right to safe workplaces, decent and hygienic housing, and safe modes of transport. Costs and profitability should not be reasons for taking the safety of workers less seriously than they should be. It is easy to blame workers and drivers for the accidents, and in some cases, they may be at fault. Yet, whether it is the choice of vehicle or driver, or deciding the number of passengers these vehicles carry, employers have the responsibility to ensure that their company arrangements comply with safety standards. We urge the authorities to make clear these standards...

The following article was published in the Straits Times on 26 June 2010. Worker-transport safety rules may come sooner By Daryl Chin Straits Times, Jun 26, 2010 Reproduced photo caption: After a recent spate of accidents involving workers on lorries, a public outcry ensued. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) is considering bringing forward the implementation of stricter measures to ensure the safety of workers when being transported. In a statement sent to The Straits Times, it said: 'We are looking into the circumstances of the recent accidents and if necessary, we will consider doing more, including bringing forward the implementation of the remaining measures.' The remaining measures include higher protective side railings and canopies to be installed on all lorries used to transport workers, and increasing the minimum deck space per seated worker from the current 4 sq ft to 8 sq ft. In the meantime, LTA said it will further step up enforcement...