I just came out of a one and a half-hour live stream where 7 experts in their own fields discussed the current coronavirus situation with respect to the migrant community and learned a great deal. One member advocated that the Singaporean response has been more than adequate in handling this problem and reassured us that the steps to deal with dormitory hotspots wouldn’t have been different if it was local Singaporeans instead of foreign and migrant workers. Many of the other panellists didn’t make comments specifically but the general air was that these problems are only being solved because they have to be solved and in actuality, the government needs to seriously reassess policies and laws that help solve the fundamental root problems that caused the outbreaks. My favourite panellist suggested price floors and minimum wages, as well as perhaps a, lessening of competition in the dorm market so that the firms won’t need to cut corners to profit maximise. However, during the stream, I was able to see other peoples thoughts that were also watching the live stream and they were all very similar in the fact that they thought migrant workers have been marginalised and abused for far too long. However, one panellist raised a good point in that the average Singaporean, whether we like it or not, benefit massively from the cheap labour we are provided and in turn, may not have the drive to change the laws and policies as necessary.
All in all a very interesting discussion with insights being noted from every panellist.
