You have the power to protect them
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, shoving more of them into tiny rooms, stacked like chickens, to save on accommodation, and squeezing their pay packets.
Can we do anything about this other than demanding that the Government intervene? Yes, we can.
Clash clout
Because we are in control of something much more powerful than legislation - our wallets.
One way to start is by choosing to work with businesses with good labour practices.
In the West, companies which insert green and humane labour policy clauses in their call for proposals are fairly common.
This means that they won't award contracts to companies that do not have eco-friendly practices or those that treat their workers badly.
We can practice this too, albeit on a smaller scale.
If you are renovating, don't engage contractors who ferry workers to your home in unsafe ways.
If you work for a company which deals with contractors, make your views known to your superiors, who may then be prudent in how they choose their suppliers.
But will people put their money where their mouth is when it comes to campaigning for the safety and well-being of foreign workers here?
Better working conditions and higher safety standards cost money to implement and maintain.
When costs go up, so do prices.
So when it comes to the crunch, will you reward companies who invest more in treating their workers better?
Or will financial prudence prevail? Consumers cry foul over worker ill-treatment, but quietly benefit from the affordable goods and services they churn out.
It is easy to condemn and pity after the fact.
To act will take a bit more effort.
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, shoving more of them into tiny rooms, stacked like chickens, to save on accommodation, and squeezing their pay packets.
Can we do anything about this other than demanding that the Government intervene? Yes, we can.
Clash clout
Because we are in control of something much more powerful than legislation - our wallets.
One way to start is by choosing to work with businesses with good labour practices.
In the West, companies which insert green and humane labour policy clauses in their call for proposals are fairly common.
This means that they won't award contracts to companies that do not have eco-friendly practices or those that treat their workers badly.
We can practice this too, albeit on a smaller scale.
If you are renovating, don't engage contractors who ferry workers to your home in unsafe ways.
If you work for a company which deals with contractors, make your views known to your superiors, who may then be prudent in how they choose their suppliers.
But will people put their money where their mouth is when it comes to campaigning for the safety and well-being of foreign workers here?
Better working conditions and higher safety standards cost money to implement and maintain.
When costs go up, so do prices.
So when it comes to the crunch, will you reward companies who invest more in treating their workers better?
Or will financial prudence prevail? Consumers cry foul over worker ill-treatment, but quietly benefit from the affordable goods and services they churn out.
It is easy to condemn and pity after the fact.
To act will take a bit more effort.
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