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Oral Answer by Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and Education, to Parliamentary Question on Medical Examination for Foreign Workers

Notice Paper No. 40 of 2013 for the Sitting on 4 Feb 2013 Question No. 993 For Oral Answer

MP: Dr Chia Shi-Lu

To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what are the procedures for auditing medical examinations for foreign workers; and (b) what processes are in place to ensure that the system for such medical examinations is relevant and robust given the volume of such examinations and evolving public health and workplace challenges.

Answer

  1. Employers are required to send their foreign workers (FWs) for a medical examination by a Singapore-registered doctor within fourteen days of arriving in Singapore. The Manpower Ministry reviews the medical examination reports of all FWs as part of the work pass application process. FWs who are found to have specific infectious diseases or to be unfit for work will not be issued with work passes, and must leave Singapore.
  2. We work with our public health professionals in the Ministry of Health to identify the infectious diseases that are of public health concern. The medical examination screens for these infectious diseases1 and also helps to give an indication of the FW’s general fitness for work at the point of examination, based on the professional judgement of the doctor.
  3. The Ministry of Manpower continually works with MOH to ensure the medical examination framework remains relevant to the public health threats facing Singapore and to strengthen the process of medical screening for foreign workers.

1 These are Tuberculosis, HIV, Syphilis and Malaria.