Previously, it was announced that all dormitories, including standalone quarantine facilities within dormitories, have been cleared.
And what that means, according to Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, is that they can now move out from ‘crisis mode’ to a more ‘sustainable model’.
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A New Division For Dormitories
On 22 Aug, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced a new division for the foreign workers’ dormitories.
While the Inter-agency task force was in charge of crisis handling, the Assurance, Care and Engagement Group, or the ACE Group, is formed to make dormitories more resilient and protect foreign workers from new public health threats.
The Inter-agency Task Force will hand over the dormitories to ACE Group in phases from August to September 2020.
By 1 Oct 2020, the new division will be fully functional, MOM says.
The A.C.E Framework
Assurance: The group will provide assurance to foreign workers staying within dormitories as well as those working in the dormitories.
Care: They will develop a “comprehensive medical support plan”, and give foreign workers more access to health services
Engage: The group will also act as a bridge to build stronger relationships between migrant workers and other stakeholders like Singaporeans, workers’ groups, employers and dormitory operators.
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If you think it’s starting to sound like a union for foreign workers, well, you’re not the only one.
Replacing Medical Outposts
FAST teams will still be deployed at the various dormitories, including:
- Purpose-built dormitories
- Factory converted dormitories
- Construction temporary quarters
- Private residential premises
If you’re unaware of what a FAST team does, they’re basically a team on-site that makes sure that the migrant workers are well-taken care of, sometimes even going the extra mile to put WiFi in their rooms.
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The ACE Group also said they’ll set up a network of 12 “on-site medical centres and sectoral medical centres” to replace the medical outposts that are being phased out.
Shifting Of Focus
Previously, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said that they are now focused on the next step: moving through the three key phases of Safe-Reopening, Safe Transition and Safe Nation.
Previously, all of their efforts were targeted at saving lives.
But moving forward, they are now focusing their efforts on “protecting livelihoods” and “guarding against new infections”.
MOM also thanks the Inter-Agency Task Force (ITF) for their hard work and says that the ACE Group will build on their work to take care of the migrant workers.
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You can read MOM’s press release here.
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