Why the double standards when it comes to foreign workers?
I REFER to last Thursday's letter by Ms Isabel Vadivu Govind, 'Safer? Workers shouldn't be on lorries at all'.
I have always been baffled by the fact that passengers in enclosed private cars are required by law to put on seat belts, but workers are allowed to travel in open lorries and pick-up trucks. Many accidents and deaths involving foreign workers transported this way have occurred over the years.
Higher cost has been cited by both employers and the Government as the main reason a safer arrangement cannot be provided. I cannot understand the logic of comparing human life with economic costs.
When a life is lost, it is lost forever and no amount of money can bring it back. Would we have accepted the argument if those dead were Singaporeans? Would we not have asked (or demanded) safer protection for workers on the road?
Every one of those lives lost is someone's father or son or brother or husband. If we can make seat belts compulsory for all car passengers, we should expect equivalent safety measures for foreign workers who have come all the way here at considerable expense to earn a living and help us build our nation.
Tan Thiam Soon
URL:http://www.straitstimes.com/
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