‘Is this how they should be treated?’ — Video of migrant workers getting rained in open lorry upsets Singaporeans

SINGAPORE: A video of a group of migrant workers getting soaked in the rain posted on Instagram on Tuesday morning (Aug 22) drew several angry comments from netizens, many of whom called anew for the workers to have a better means of being transported.

The caption of the Singapore Incidents video reads: “We implore(s) LTA (Land Transport Authority) and MOM (Ministry of Manpower) to change the safety of our foreign worker transportation. Is this how they should be treated? 😑”

The Aug 22 video on Singapore Incidents shows a large group of men crowded into the back of a lorry. They’re shown sitting on both sides of the truck bed and in the middle. With the rain coming in from the back of the vehicle, the two men at the end of each side open umbrellas to shield them from the deluge, but unfortunately, the man’s umbrella on the right side malfunctions at first.

 

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Last month, an accident along the Kranji Expressway involving three trucks sent 26 men to hospitals. Following this, over 40 people and groups, including those who advocate for migrant worker welfare, asked the Government for a timeline for the ban on using trucks or lorries. They also called to make it mandatory for the vehicles that bring migrant workers to and from work to have seatbelts and actual passenger seats.

It is a longstanding issue in Singapore, and this type of call has been repeated over the years.

Commenters on the video also expressed dismay.

“These are the people that make our shelters yet we don’t protect them,” wrote one.

Another chimed in, “Maybe “some ppl’ should be transported to and from parliament in this way. Just to get a ‘sense’ of what it’s like.”

A netizen commented, “Even in Indonesia construction workers are transported using bus, well a rusted one tho, but still a bus.”

“How is this safe and humane? Shocking how not everyone is given the same standards in Singapore,” another wrote.

/TISG

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