Singapore has warned maid employment agencies in the city-state against “undignified” advertising following complaints by rights groups that domestic workers are being marketed as commodities.
In an advisory sent to the agencies, the Ministry of Manpower said it was concerned by the “insensitive and inappropriate” portrayal of domestic helpers in advertisements as well as instances where they are put on display in shopping malls.
“Advertisements which emphasise cheap fees, promotional rates, and/or discounts inadvertently give the impression that the FDWs (foreign domestic workers) are being marketed as merchandise,” the ministry said in the advisory, a copy of which was sent to AFP Thursday.
The ministry warned it has the power to suspend or revoke the licences of violators.
Employment agencies should “refrain from all forms of public advertising that casts FDWs in an undignified light,” the ministry said.
Advertisements that liken domestic helpers “to merchandise that can be purchased and replaced when found unsatisfactory” are unacceptable, it added.
It urged employment agencies not to make domestic helpers sit outside shop fronts for inspection by prospective employers as it reinforced the impression that they are “commodities to be ‘tested’ or traded”.
The advisory follows news reports and complaints by migrant labour activists about foreign domestic helpers being made to demonstrate household and caregiving chores at employment agency premises in shopping malls.
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network in June reported that it spotted foreign domestic helpers at a suburban shopping mall pushing each other around in wheelchairs pretending to be taking care of the elderly.
Others cradled baby dolls or did ironing in mock living rooms, the network said. The manpower ministry said in a July 4 statement that its own investigations found no such “inappropriate” display of foreign domestic helpers.
More than 210,000 women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Myanmar and India work as maids in affluent Singapore. –AFP News
Nov 16 – International Day for Tolerance
“No more toleration of corruption!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands
#Report Corruption #SearchPosts #TakePicturesVideos
November
Nov 2 – Intl Day to End Impunity for
Crimes Against Journalists
Nov 9 – World Science Day for Peace
and Development
Nov 16 – International Day for Tolerance
Nov 19 – World Toilet Day
Nov 20 – World Children’s Day
Nov 25 – Intl Day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women
Monthly Observances:
Homes Safety Month
Filipino Values Month
National Rice Awareness Month
National Consciousness Month
for Punctuality and Civility
Environmental Awareness Month
National Children’s Month
Organic Agriculture Month
Weekly Observances:
Nov 19-25: Global Warming and
Climate Change Consciousness Week
Nov 23-29: National Girls’ Week
Population and Development Week
Nov 25 – Dec 12: Social Welfare Week
18-Day Campaign to End
Violence against Women
Week 2: Week 3: Drug Abuse Prevention
and Control Week
Last Week: Safety and Accident
Prevention Week
Daily Observances:
Last Saturday: Career Executive Service
Day
Nov 19: National Child Health Day
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