Pilot scheme to facilitate entry of more maids into S'pore amid Covid-19

Straits Times More foreign domestic workers may soon be able to come into Singapore, under a pilot programme that starts this month. The programme, led by the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) and several maid agencies, will see domestic workers undergo additional safe management measures in their home countries before they can enter Singapore. The programme will begin in mid-July, and is intended to help meet the domestic and caregiving needs of local households. In a statement on Wednesday (July 14), the association said that workers will undergo multiple Covid-19 tests over a 14-day period at isolation facilities in their home countries before coming to Singapore. They will be subject to prevailing arrival measures, including a 14-day stay-home notice (SHN), Covid-19 testing protocols and safe management measures. The pilot covers domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines for a start. Employers who hire domestic workers through the pilot will have to pay additional fees to cover the costs of overseas testing and getting the workers settled in. Close to 70 employment agencies are participating in the programme. The association will evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot in facilitating the entry of workers while minimising the risk of Covid-19 importation, it said. It will explore helping more workers enter Singapore through this approach if it proves to be feasible. Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that she was heartened that the association has stepped forward with several employment agencies to launch the pilot. She acknowledged that since the number of foreign domestic workers entering Singapore was further reduced in May to manage the risk of imported Covid-19 infections, some families have been affected. This is especially so for those with urgent caregiving needs. Ms Gan noted that it has been challenging to restore the inflow of workers as the Covid-19 situation continues to evolve and remains volatile globally, and many foreign domestic workers come from countries with a high incidence of Covid-19 cases. She said that her ministry will work with the association to continue to give priority to families with urgent and challenging caregiving needs. "Once there is more certainty on the Covid-19 situation, we will allow more domestic helpers to enter Singapore," she said. --

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more