Living Conditions and Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers after Arrival and before Employment

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry regulates the living conditions and protection of rights of foreign domestic workers after they have arrived in Singapore and before employment; and (b) how regularly does the Ministry inspect the boarding houses and interview the workers.

Mrs Josephine Teo: Employment Agencies (EAs) that bring in Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) are required, under their licence, to upkeep and maintain the FDWs prior to their deployment to their employers' households. This includes the provision of food, medical treatment and proper accommodation at the agencies' cost.

EAs have to comply with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Housing and Development Board (HDB) occupancy load criteria. EAs must also ensure that the FDWs have privacy and hygienic living conditions. The places of accommodation used by EAs must be registered with the Ministry of Manpower.

MOM regularly inspects the places of accommodation and may interview the occupants as part of the process. Over 100 premises are inspected every year. The majority of the EAs have been found to be compliant. Violations were detected for 33 EAs out of 131 EAs whose premises were inspected in the past 12 months, but most were also relatively minor. These EAs are likely to receive a warning or composition fine, as well as demerit points. EAs with severe violations will be prosecuted and may be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed up to six months. They may also have their licences revoked.