Essay Draft1

Question: Discuss a “divide” that exists due to the lack of ICT or other digital technology in a particular country/academic discipline, and propose measures that could be implemented to address the problem. 

Introduction

Foreign workers play an important role in Singapore's economy as they fill up the low-paying jobs which most singaporeans are not willing to take up. According to the statistics(“Foreign workforce numbers,” 2014) provided by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower(MOM), there are about 0.3 million foreigners working in Singapore’s construction sector as of June 2014. In this essay, our focus will be on these foreign workers who work in Singapore's construction sector. Despite the rapid development and availability of Information & Communication Technology(ICT) in Singapore, a large number of these foreign workers remain “disconnected” from the internet as they do not have the financial capability to own an ICT device. As a result, this leads to a digital divide between them and their employers as they face several disadvantages due to information failure or imperfect knowledge. Occasionally, there are cases of foreign workers in Singapore being treated unfairly by their employers due to information failure, Singapore government (Ministry of Manpower) can address the problem of this information failure by enforcing employers to provide necessary equipments for internet access.

Identification of problem

Foreign workers generally do not have the additional spending power to own ICT devices due to their low income and also to the fact that they will often send their wages to their family back in their country of origin. Depending on their nationalities, their average monthly wages range between $480 to $1500(Chia & Zaccheus, 2012). Without a proper tool, they are unable to access the internet which contains lots of information and platforms where they can seek help from. As such, this poses as a kind of information failure which the employer may abuse and put the workers at a disadvantage.

Despite government’s efforts to “protect foreign workers’ rights”(Ng, 2009), there are still many cases of unfair treatments by employers. According to a survey by Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), a non-profit organisation, one third of the 328 male foreign workers surveyed are not paid what they are supposed to(“One third of male,” 2014). Another recent survey by TWC2 suggests that 26 to 40 percent of male migrant workers are illegally forced to forfeit a portion of their pay as a form of “saving money”(“20 to 40 percent of,” 2014a). These workers are usually “misled” by their employers, since they came from another country and do not know the rights they are entitled to in Singapore. With little free time available due to long working hours, and little or no connection to people that can help them, they can only wait for help to arrive instead of asking for help. However, with the help of the internet, they can access the information needed or address their queries easily when they feel that they are mistreated. 

The reason migrant workers choose to work in a foreign country that they are unfamiliar of, is due to high wages the country can offer. Despite of that, many foreign workers ended up imposing huge “sunk cost” as a result of the “recruitment fees” demanded by their middlemen or agencies that help them to secure the job(Au, 2014). In the same article by Alex Au(2014), the vice president of TWC2, suggested a “digital marketplace for migrant labour jobs” to eliminate the need of middlemen when seeking or changing job. This shows us the disadvantages a foreign worker can experience when finding a job without the aid of the internet.

The two examples above proves that digital divide that exist between these foreign workers and the employers are mainly in the form of information discrepancy, and thus resulting in unfair or unjust treatments. This divide might not sound like a serious problem itself, but it can greatly hinder the addressing of other more significant problems like wage-related issues.

Solution

As mentioned previously, the main reason why foreign workers remain “disconnected” is due to their limited financial capability. Providing them with subsidies is not a wise option as they can easily abuse the system by selling the computer bought with the subsidies and earning quick money. To ensure that they can get the necessary ICT equipments, Singapore’s government, MOM to be exact, can enforce employers to set up an “Internet Corner” in the workers’ accommodation premises. This allows the foreign workers to gain access to the internet more easily without spending huge sum of money.

Some might argue that there is no incentive for the employers to fork out additional capitals to provide internet access for their foreign workers. To address this concern, MOM can give foreign-worker-levy rebates to the employers if they opt to do so. Furthermore, by providing basic welfares to the workers, the companies are also portraying a good image, which can win the hearts of stockholders and public.

Conclusion

In conclusion, financial capability is the main reason why foreign workers in Singapore remain “disconnected” from the internet. This results in information discrepancy between them and their employers. This digital divide allows their employers to abuse the workers’ rights, and also slows down the process of offering help to the workers when they are treated unfairly. In order to address the problems arose due to this digital divide, Singapore’s government can tackle the “divide” by enforcing and also providing incentives to the employers when they help their workers to get “connected”.

References

Au, A. (2014, September 15). Overhauling Singapore's migrant labour system - an alternative plan. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://twc2.org.sg/2014/09/15/overhauling-singapores-migrant-labour-system-an-alternative-plan/

Chia, Y. J., & Zaccheus, M. (2012, December 10). Hard life, but foreign workers labour on. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://news.asiaone.com/print/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20121209-388579.html

Foreign workforce numbers. (2014, September 25). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.mom.gov.sg/statistics-publications/others/statistics/Pages/ForeignWorkforceNumbers.aspx

Ng, E. j. (2009, January 16). Government's pledge to protect foreign workers' rights should go beyond mere empty talk. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=1917

One third of male. (2014, July 8). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://twc2.org.sg/2014/07/08/one-third-of-male-migrant-workers-dont-get-paid-what-theyre-due/

20 to 40 percent of. (2014, September 10). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://twc2.org.sg/2014/09/10/26-to-40-percent-of-male-workers-suffer-illegal-savings-money-deduction/


Edited 2 October 2014