Singapore boss praised after standing up for foreign workers and calling for more compassion

SINGAPORE: The boss of a local demolition firm made an appeal for Singaporeans to treat foreign workers with kindness, saying he does not understand why some in Singapore appear to enjoy bullying workers from other countries.

In a June 24 video on the TikTok account for Apex Demolition, the boss, who has been identified as Jeff Gay, said more than once that “Foreign workers are human too.”

Explaining that due to the nature of his business, his team is full of foreign workers, who, as he explained, left their hometown just to come to Singapore for work.

And at times, life in the city-state is not easy, particularly when they get bullied, as well as when security guards purposely stop them from entering a job site, or when their neighbours scold them for being noisy or dirty.

The worst incident that happened was when the lorry owned by Mr Gay’s company was hit with eggs, seemingly when the workers were using it.

“When I heard about it, I was furious. So I told my in-charge to just take a video of the guy who threw eggs at us. No need to be scared. I’m coming down now,” he said, adding that this is why he believes the workers feel that he’s “just like their big brother.”

Mr Gay also said that he always helps the men who work for him, because this is his responsibility as their boss—to take care of them and protect them.

He appealed to Singaporeans not to discriminate against foreign workers but instead to treat them with kindness.

“Foreign workers are human too,” he said again, adding, “If we don’t have them, who is going to do their job?”

His video has since gone viral, with many commenters praising Mr Gay for his attitude toward the men who work for his company. This will work well for him, as workers who are cared for do better jobs, others added.

“You are a good boss… If you treat them good, they will appreciate and do even better than others because they appreciate you as well,” wrote one.

“Completely agree, we need more bosses like him in Singapore,” another added.

“Power la ur boss… RESPECT!! This type of video must go viral… learn to respect other humans! Can be from any nation, China or India or Bangladesh or Indonesia, male or female, all are humans. Respect a human cos they deserve the respect. Being born in a poor country wasn’t their mistake at all; many ppl might be gifted but doesn’t mean they can look down on someone,” chimed in a third. /TISG

Read also: Workers’ rights group asks why it took 100 migrant workers to complain before MOM took action, when early warning signs were there