Some Estate Cleaners Allegedly Work Longer Hours Without OT Pay

Foreign workers in Singapore have it hard.

Not only do they have to deal with being locked up in their dormitories, but they’re also discriminated against by people whom they’ve worked faithfully for.

And, as you’ll find out today, not getting paid fairly for their work.

Some Estate Cleaners Allegedly Work Longer Hours During Covid-19 Pandemic

How long do you think our Bangladeshi estate cleaners work every single day?

9am to 5pm? 12-hour shifts?

No. The answer is, as long as it takes for them to complete their jobs.

According to a TODAY report, cleaners in HDB estates has been clocking up to 14 hours a day since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A typical workday for them starts at 6am and could end as late as 8pm.

Because more people are staying home and eating in, these cleaners have to clear the bin chutes more regularly, or it might pile up, even to the floor above.

They also have more to do, like cleaning and sanitising lift buttons, handles and letterboxes.

But They’re Not Getting Paid Extra Or Getting Very Little

Out of 10 Bangladeshi estate cleaners spoken to, 3 of them do not receive any OT pay at all.

The remaining seven do get extra money but it ranges between $50 and $100 per month.

An individual estate cleaner said he received a one-time $200 bonus from his employers for the extra workload.

According to a report by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), none of the workers they had spoken to reported any wage increase despite Covid-19 (and the longer-than-usual hours).

Two Bangladeshi estate cleaners, Mr Ahmad and Mr Sabbir, had to come to work an hour earlier and end an hour later over the past few months.

Not only did they not get any OT pay, but their monthly pay of about $660 also has not increased since 4 years ago.

Mr Sabbir added that his company had wanted to cut his pay because it was “too high”, which was why he finds it hard to ask for a pay increase.

“They said (my salary was) high already, how to ask for more?”

According to HOME’s calculations, it costs around $2 an hour to employ a foreign estate cleaner.

Work Seven Days A Week

Imagine if you were to go to a company and the boss tells you; there are no rest days and the pay is less than a bowl of meepok per hour.

You’re probably going to react like these millennials here.

But that’s exactly what these foreign estate cleaners are facing.

Conservancy workers in HDB estates typically work throughout the year and have no off days.

On weekends and public holidays, they are paid overtime instead.

An employer said that it’s the workers who often decided not to take any day off as they have nothing to do at home anyway.

“They usually choose to work (weekends) to get extra pay. If they don’t work and choose to stay at home, they also have nothing to do.”

Some estate cleaners, however, simply said that it’s difficult getting day-offs as there is nobody else to cover their duties.

Workers are (sometimes) allowed to take leave but they have to finish their work for the day first.

One thing you’ll be glad to know, however, is that employers do encourage their cleaners to see a doctor if they’re unwell, although health benefits vary too among the different companies.

After all, it’s Covid-19 and we want everyone to be hale and healthy, don’t we?

One thing to note before you take up pitchforks and demand for employers to pay estate cleaners more money; be prepared to pay more from your own pockets too.

After all, any increase in the wages of these HDB estate cleaners basically means an increase in the conservancy charges you’ll have to pay per month.

As Jamus Lim oppa has said, there has to be a set of trade-offs. Are you willing to pay more to better the living standards of our foreign brothers?

Read Also: Labour MP Releases Breakdown of S’porean, PR & Foreign PMEs in S’pore in 4 Sectors