MOM check on 2 dorms finds adequate conditions

A MINISTRY of Manpower (MOM) inspection on Monday night of two industrial premises partially converted to foreign worker dormitories found clean bedrooms and bathrooms, and facilities such as a gym and TV sets.

The new dormitories are in the Joo Koon industrial estate. The first, belonging to construction equipment company Land Equipment, houses 83 workers and started operations in May this year.

Workers sleep 12 to a room with air-conditioning that runs automatically from 9pm to 6am.

The second is a two-monthold dormitory operated by Tanglin Corporation, a subsidiary of construction company Woh Hup.

A total of 460 workers live there and are provided with cooking facilities, a gym and free Wi-Fi on the ground floor.

Ms Penny Elaine Yapp, deputy director for well-being in MOM's foreign manpower management division, said the conditions suggested that dormitories converted from factory premises can provide adequate living conditions for foreign workers when regulations are complied with.

Around 360 inspections have been carried out in the first half of this year, and the ministry has taken action against some 600 employers for housing violations, said a spokesman.

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