Enhancing Support Ecosystem for Migrant Domestic Workers

Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Manpower in light of findings that migrant domestic workers face significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to migrant workers, whether the Ministry has plans to review the support ecosystem for migrant domestic workers to ensure that they can access timely mental health screening, counselling and community based support.

The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and National University of Singapore's (NUS') Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health conducted a study in 2024 to establish the baseline on the mental well-being of migrant domestic workers (MDWs) and migrant workers (MWs) to better inform our interventions and policies. Based on survey responses, the study reflected elevated rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms among MDWs compared to MWs. However, it was important to note that these findings were based solely on participants' responses and do not constitute actual clinical diagnoses of depression or anxiety, which would require professional assessment.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) takes a multi-pronged approach to pre-emptively identify and address mental health and well-being concerns. These include the Settling-In Programme for all first-time MDWs that provides information on stress management and avenues to seek help. The Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) conducts two interviews with all first-time MDWs in the first year of their employment. Additionally, employment agencies are required to carry out welfare checks within three months of the MDW's placement. The mandatory six-monthly medical examination is yet another safeguard to enable early detection of distress. Beyond these, MOM operates a dedicated MDW helpline to support MDWs in distress and an MDW WhatsApp channel that contains information on mental health and how to seek help.

The 2024 IMH-NUS study found that the vast majority of MDWs (91.4%) would seek help from their family, friends or from non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Given this, MOM will strengthen support to our NGO partners to enable early detection and timely intervention. This includes working with NGOs, such as the Alliance of Domestic Employees Outreach to train MDW "care sisters" to serve as volunteer peer support and CDE and Brahm Centre to amplify assistance channels.

MOM will continue to work with our NGO partners and mental health experts to strengthen the mental health ecosystem for our migrant workforce.