New gallery to celebrate migrant workers' contributions

While the Government is closely monitoring the recent uptick in Covid-19 cases, migrant workers living in dormitories can continue to join the community freely, said Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng yesterday.

The Popular Places Pass, he added, is a necessity to curb footfall at popular haunts on Sundays and public holidays.

To visit Little India, Jurong East, Chinatown or Geylang Serai on Sundays and public holidays, workers living in dormitories have to apply for a pass on the SGWorkPass mobile app. Up to 80,000 such passes will be available each Sunday or public holiday, and approval is granted almost instantly.

Dr Tan said: "(While) we want them to integrate as fast as they can back into the community and also to be able to visit the community as and when they need and they like… we are not really out of the woods completely yet."

Speaking to the media at the launch of a gallery celebrating the contributions of the migrant worker community, Dr Tan expressed his hope that Singaporeans will acknowledge the efforts of migrant workers here.

"Our Migrant Workers Gallery symbolises our appreciation for our migrant workers' contributions to Singapore, and recognises their resilience through the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

Located at the Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) Group's headquarters in Geylang Bahru, the gallery launched by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) features more than 150 photographs in four zones.

Each zone explores different facets of the migrant worker community, with visitors first being greeted by portraits and stories of individual workers.

The second zone takes visitors through the spread of Covid-19 in the dormitories and how response teams worked to curb the spread.

The third zone details MOM's road map for a more resilient migrant workforce, which was laid out in December last year.

In the final zone, visitors can see community efforts to engage migrant workers.

Visitors can pen messages of appreciation on stickers, which can then be pasted on the walls.

While the gallery is not open to the public yet, guided tours will be organised for students from tertiary institutions as part of MOM's School Partnership Programme, which engages young people on issues relating to Singapore's migrant workforce.

Giving students a glimpse of the contributions of migrant workers will help them better understand their sacrifices in coming to work here, which will hopefully mitigate negative perceptions, said Dr Tan.

Tours will also be organised for migrant workers and are slated to begin next month.

Among guests at the gallery's opening were Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon, representatives from stakeholder groups and NGOs, volunteers from the Singapore Institute of Technology and Friends of ACE - a network of migrant worker volunteers providing social support in dormitories.

After touring the gallery, Friends of ACE volunteer Shanmugam Ganesan, 34, said he was heartened that the efforts of migrant workers like himself are being acknowledged. "It's a very proud moment for everyone. We can see the part that we played here."