While some dormitories had put in place stringent temperature taking measures at the start of the pandemic, it appears some dormitories have quietly abandoned these practices due to the long queues that inevitably form before and after work hours. Further, while there is still yellow tape on the ground for social distancing purposes, there is a lack of enforcement on whether these measures are actually observed.

Said Rocky, “I never see social distancing, from the beginning to now—people never comply. I just see the entrance got temperature scanning, but no people monitor, no control measures, nothing.”

As more migrant workers have tested positive, other dormitories have stepped up efforts to contain the crisis through increased health checks. According to Madhavan, police officers will be coming into the dormitories to conduct temperature checks for everyone from today evening, and anyone with a fever will be sent to the hospital immediately. While this might be a sign that dormitories are taking precautions more seriously, greater police involvement might also create unnecessary stress and panic amongst a population already wary of enforcement.

Uncertain Salaries, Uncertain Futures

Beyond health, migrant workers also remain uncertain about the financial implications of a “circuit breaker” announced by PM Lee last Friday, for the physical nature of their jobs makes working from home impossible. Most companies have already issued advisories to their workers informing them of a one-month work from home policy—for most migrant workers, this simply means waiting in their dormitories, until the one month ends.

Madhavan says nothing has been communicated about salaries so far: “All the workers waiting for official information”. When his fellow workers clarified with their companies, they were told to wait till Monday, where Minister Heng is expected to make a speech about government provisions to support construction companies during this period.

For the moment, it seems like each company is adopting its own policy. At Zakir’s company, migrant workers have been asked to take a 5% pay cut. “My company is kind,” Zakir says, “but others have not been so lucky.” Some of his friends have had to accept 50% wage cuts, while others have had to forfeit their salaries altogether.

Migrant workers, as non-citizens, are not currently entitled to the Budget benefits announced by the government. For instance, the Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme, which covers up to 75% of employees’ salaries up to a cap of $4,600, only applies to local workers. It is unclear if the Ministry of Manpower would issue further guidelines on salaries for an already precarious population—many of whom already owe existing debt obligations to brokerage agents, and whose families back home depend on their monthly remittances to survive.

In today’s Solidarity Budget, Minister Heng announced that the government would waive this month’s foreign worker levy for employers, and also provide employers with a $750 rebate for each Work Permit and S-Pass holder.

However, absent of any legislation, it is not certain that firms will necessarily pass off these cost savings to migrant workers. As the earlier debacle over the property tax rebates has shown, “trickle-down economics” is nothing more than a bizarre fantasy, as tenants remain sceptical that landlords will pass on rebates to tenants. The government has since rectified this by introducing a law that would compel landlords into compliance. Similar legislation should be extended in this case to ensure that companies pass on rebates to migrant workers, and to hold companies accountable for firing workers or imposing severe pay cuts.