Thirty-eight
representatives from civil society organisations and labour unions
gathered in Singapore, on 16-17 April 2009, for the country's national
consultation on protection and promotion of the rights of migrant
workers. They recommended on the government of Singapore to protect
well-being of the migrant workers, which amount to be nearly 800,000.

Thirty-eight
representatives from civil society organisations and labour unions
gathered in Singapore, on 16-17 April 2009, for the country's national
consultation on protection and promotion of the rights of migrant
workers. They recommended on the government of Singapore to protect
well-being of the migrant workers, which amount to be nearly 800,000.
Below is an extract of their statement. 

As
representatives of civil society organisations and trade unions, we
are 38 participants who gathered at the
Peninsula Excelsior Hotel, Singapore on April 16-17, 2009, to conduct
this National Consultation on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights
of Migrant Workers under the auspices of the Task Force on ASEAN Migrant
Workers.    

The government of Singapore is to
be commended for its actions to protect the well-being of migrant workers
residing and working in Singapore, including through provision of labour
legislation such as the Employment Act, the Employment of Foreign Manpower
Act, and the Workmen's Compensation Act. We appreciate the newly established Ministerial
Steering Committee to address issues and seek ways to enable migrant
workers and local communities to live in harmony. Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has also taken
the laudatory step of forming a Task Force in January 2009 to monitor
employers of migrant workers who have salary arrears outstanding to
the workers, default payment of the foreign worker levy, and fail to
comply with regulations related to migrant worker accommodation. We note
also, the actions that MOM has taken over the years to bring errant employers
who abuse and exploit migrant workers to task. We look forward to working
closely with the Government of Singapore and MOM, especially as ASEAN
moves towards regional economic integration by 2015. In this spirit of
mutual respect and commitment to work together for a common purpose,
we have the following recommendations from our two-day consultations
to propose to the government of Singapore, and to ASEAN, which address
a wide range of migration policies, including stepping up enforcement
of laws to protect and promote the rights of migrant workers.   

To read the complete statement, please click here.