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A Case Study of Singapore's Mandatory Weekly Day

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A Case Study of Singapore's Mandatory Weekly Day The Dynamics of Policy Formulation and Implementation: A Case Study of Singapore’s Mandatory Weekly Day Off Policy for Migrant Domestic Workers Chiu Yee Koh, Charmian Goh, Kellynn Wee and Brenda S.A. Yeoh Working Paper 36 May 2016 Acknowledgements The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Maria Platt, Khoo Choon Yen, Theodora Lam, and Silvia Mila Arlini for providing comments on an earlier draft. We are also thankful to L. Alan Winters, Ingrid Palmary, Thea de Gruchy, and Ali Ashraf for their input. We are grateful to all the respondents who generously gave their time to participate in the interviews, as well as Irna Nurlina and Jamie Lai for assisting with interview transcriptions. We would like to acknowledge the support of the Asia Research Institute (ARI) at the National University of Singapore. This work has been funded by UK aid from the UK government through the Migrating out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium; however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. Migrating out of Poverty University of Sussex, Arts B Brighton BN1 9QN, United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Web: http://migratingoutofpoverty.org Twitter: @MigrationRPC Facebook: /migratingoutofpoverty Blogger: migratingoutofpoverty.blogspot.co.uk This is an output from a project funded by UK aid from the UK government. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. © 2016 University of Sussex, School of Global Studies. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. 1 Abstract Using the process-tracing methodology, this paper aims to outline the causal mechanisms that led to the formulation of the day off policy for migrant domestic workers in Singapore. Specifically, our analysis will focus on the three “I”s: ideas, interests and institutions. We argue that the day off policy was first brought to the agenda by the campaigning efforts of local migrant rights groups. The government’s commitment to safeguarding Singapore’s international reputation provided further impetus for the improvement of employment conditions for migrant domestic workers by means of the day off policy. Finally, Singaporeans’ dependence on migrant domestic workers provided an economic imperative for the introduction of the day off policy: it was a means to enhance Singapore’s appeal in order to attract a steady supply of migrant domestic workers, especially amidst fears of a supply crunch of these workers. 2 Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 3 List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 9 The “3I’s” Framework ......................................................................................................................... 9 Process Tracing Methodology ............................................................................................................. 9 Limitations......................................................................................................................................... 12 Day off policy trajectory ........................................................................................................................ 13 Policymaking space in Singapore .......................................................................................................... 20 Hypotheses ........................................................................................................................................... 22 NGO advocacy ................................................................................................................................... 22 International pressures ..................................................................................................................... 27 Economic imperatives ....................................................................................................................... 31 Discussion: Policy analysis .................................................................................................................... 35 Institutions ........................................................................................................................................ 35 Ideas .................................................................................................................................................. 40 Interests ............................................................................................................................................ 43 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 49 References ............................................................................................................................................ 51 Annex .................................................................................................................................................... 59 3 List of Abbreviations AEAS Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) EFMA Employment of Foreign Manpower Act HOME Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics HRW Human Rights Watch ILO International Labour Organization MP Member of Parliament MOM Ministry of Manpower NGO Non-governmental organisations NMP Nominated Member of Parliament NTUC National Trade Union Congress PAP People’s Action Party TIP Trafficking in Persons TWC2 Transient Workers Count Too UNIFEM Singapore Committee for the United Nations Development Fund for Women 4 Executive Summary This paper discusses the day off policy for migrant domestic workers in Singapore, which was first introduced on 5 March 2012 and subsequently implemented on 1 January 2013. In brief, this legislation states that all migrant domestic workers should receive a weekly day off, unless both the employer and the worker mutually agree that the worker should be compensated one day’s salary in lieu of a day off. The introduction and institution of the day off policy offers a unique opportunity to study the mechanics of policymaking in Singapore, which is often ill-understood. This paper utilises a method of process tracing to map out the origins and reasons behind the introduction of the day off policy and to peek into the ‘black box’ of policymaking. In examining why the day off policy was introduced, we derived three hypotheses from grounded research and academic literature on policymaking in Singapore. The first hypothesis posits that local NGOs played a vital role in the policy process by keeping the issue visible on the agenda over a prolonged period of ten years and continually sustained alternative frames of understanding for the treatment of migrant domestic workers. The most visible effort closest to the enactment of the policy was the day off campaign in 2008, launched by three local NGOs: Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), and the Singapore Committee for UNIFEM. The campaign marked the first time civil society groups banded together towards a common goal of a day off for migrant domestic workers. Nonetheless, there were some barriers preventing NGOs’ effective participation in the policy process, including strong state control over policy processes and difficulty in predicting and identifying policy windows. The second hypothesis posits that the policy revision was motivated by the government’s commitment to safeguarding Singapore’s international reputation. The day off policy was arguably formulated as a response to the finding that workers who lack rest days tend to be more vulnerable to abuse, as was also flagged by the 2011 US State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The adoption of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention (C189) in 2011 further crystallised international norms of decent work conditions for domestic workers, and established a benchmark against which Singapore could pit itself, despite the country neither voting for nor ratifying C189. Furthermore, compared to destination countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan, Singapore trailed noticeably in providing decent work conditions. The third hypothesis posits that the introduction of the day off policy was compelled by an economic imperative to increase Singapore’s appeal as a destination country for migrant domestic workers amidst fears of a migrant domestic worker supply crunch in 2011. Underlying
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