Government worries about spate of deaths among foreign domestic workers

The Ministry of Manpower aims to double the penalties for employers who fail to keep their foreign domestic workers safe.

MOM said it has been deeply concerned about the recent spate of foreign domestic worker work-related fatalities. “Since January 2012, there have been nine work-related FDW fall from heights fatalities, compared to four cases for the whole of 2011 and eight in 2010. Our investigations show that five of the nine fatalities were related to FDWs cleaning windows in an unsafe manner,” reported MOM.

MOM will be sending a circular to all existing FDW employers to notify them of tightened safety requirements. MOM will also be updating its training materials for first-time FDWs and FDW employers. Failure to comply with the tightened requirements constitutes a breach of the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations. Employers who fail to comply may be prosecuted and permanently barred from hiring an FDW.

For added deterrence, MOM also plans to raise the penalty for employers prosecuted for failing to provide FDWs with a safe working environment. The Ministry intends to double the penalties from the current $5,000 fine and/or six months’ jail to $10,000 fine and/or 12 months’ jail. This is part of the ongoing review of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and its subsidiary legislation later this year.

MOM announced:

With immediate effect, employers of FDWs shall not allow their FDWs to clean the exteriors of windows except where two conditions are met:

a. The employer or an adult representative of the employer is physically present to supervise the FDW; and; b. Window grilles have been installed and are locked at all times during the cleaning process.

The new rules will apply to all homes, except for windows that are at the ground level or along common corridors.

Anyone who cleans the exteriors of their windows at home should follow similar safety requirements. But when FDWs are tasked to do domestic work, the onus is on both employers and FDWs themselves to ensure the FDWs’ safety.

Many FDWs do not come from high-rise environments and may not be used to the urban living environment in Singapore. They are therefore likely to be unaware of the risks in a high-rise domestic setting.

Apart from window cleaning, employers should take necessary steps to eliminate the risks involved in other tasks by following the Dos and Don’ts covered in MOM’s guidebooks and pamphlets.

For example, if FDWs are required to hang laundry outside the window using bamboo poles, employers should ensure their FDWs do not stand on an elevated platform or tip toe while handling the poles, and do not overload the pole with too many clothes.