Inter-agency Taskforce Coordinating NGOs' Efforts to Support the Well-Being of Foreign Workers

1. With living conditions at the 43 purpose-built dormitories largely stabilised through the efforts of the Forward Assurance and Support Teams deployed by the Inter-agency Taskforce, the Taskforce is keen to collaborate with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to better look after the well-being of our foreign workers.
2. Over the past week, the Taskforce has worked extensively with the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) to reach out and support our foreign workers. By tapping on MWC’s over 5,000 foreign worker ambassadors, we have been able to disseminate important and useful information to foreign workers in a timely manner. The ambassadors also help to relay feedback from the ground for the Taskforce to act on. MWC has also been providing foreign workers with essentials such as reusable masks, sanitisers and bar soaps.
   
   COLLABORATION WITH NGOs
   
   
3. The Taskforce recognises the potential contributions of NGOs and deeply appreciates their cooperation. We have started to coordinate efforts with NGOs that have voluntarily stepped forward. For a start, we are working with the Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach (AGWO), It’s Raining Raincoats (IRR), Geylang Adventures and Crisis Relief Alliance, amongst others, to reach out to more foreign workers, including those in the Factory-Converted Dormitories (FCDs).
4. It is critical that these efforts are coordinated in an orderly way. Having dedicated vast amounts of public resources across the whole of government, we must not risk uncoordinated actions compromising the integrity of ground operations and weakening their effectiveness. For example, each donation of perishable food items requires manpower to distribute and generates waste that must be cleared to maintain standards of hygiene. Multiple donations of similar items take up storage spaces that can be used for isolation facilities instead. We must also protect the health and safety of volunteers. We therefore seek the patience and understanding of all interested parties to work through the Taskforce to meet specific needs.
5. So far, NGOs have collectively helped:
   
   • Provide about 7,000 meals per day to the workers in FCDs; this complements efforts by the Taskforce and employers to ensure meal provision to about 200,000 workers in purpose-built dormitories and 90,000 workers in FCDs.  
   
   • Coordinate and deliver donations from the general public such as food items, backpacks, soap and other daily necessities to the workers who need them; this complements the Taskforce’s distribution of 160,000 care packs comprising reusable masks, thermometers and hand sanitisers.
   
   
6. In addition to taking care of the daily needs of the workers, the Taskforce is also paying close attention to their emotional well-being. To this end, the Taskforce has embarked on an initiative with HealthServe to provide free virtual counselling sessions by 69 volunteers comprising counsellors, psychiatrists, social workers and interpreters. Trial sessions have been ongoing at Westlite Toh Guan Dormitory, and 16 training sessions with 44 workers have been conducted to date. There are plans to roll the service out to more dormitories progressively.
7. The Taskforce thanks its partner NGOs for their tireless efforts. Our shared mission is to ensure the well-being of the workers. To do so effectively, we urge all interested parties to work through the Taskforce in an orderly and coordinated manner, in the true spirit of SG United.