November 11, 2005
OFW group urges RP to protest spying on domestic workers in Singapore

Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP) chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado urged the government last Nov. 1 to initiate the appropriate diplomatic actions to safeguard the interests and well-being of Filipino domestic workers. Bragas-Regalado was reacting to reports that Singaporean employers are secretly planting high-tech security cameras at home to spy on their migrant househelpers which she described as “racist and discriminatory.”

“This is downright racist and discriminatory as these moves assumes and presume that migrant domestic workers are criminals,” Baragas-Regalado, herself a former domestic worker, said.

MSP reported that more than 140,000 domestic workers, mainly from the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, work in Singapore. Domestic workers receive the lowest salaries among all OFWs in Singapore at S$350 (P14,511) to S$400 (P16,584) as mandated under Singapore’s salary scheme, added Bragas-Regalado.

Based on reports, security camera vendors in Singapore told the media that home queries had risen sharply in the past three years, with about 20 or 30 houses having security cameras installed per day, and customers opting for coin-sized cameras that can easily go unnoticed.

There are 90,000 OFWs in Singapore working as domestic helpers, accountants and other office jobs. (Bulatlat.com)