Humans Aren't Cargo

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...