'Management removed the seat,' says elderly SafeEntry woman at Pasir Ris hawker centre; NEA responds
The elderly SafeEntry personnel at Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre entry point.
PHOTO: Facebook/Ryaan Hannafi
PUBLISHED ONApril 21, 2022 4:19 AMByAmierul RashidImagine you're performing a physically demanding job, only to be told that you'd have to do it while standing all day.
A passerby, who goes by Ryaan Hannafi on Facebook, was incensed when he saw a safe management staff with her shoulders slouched, standing at the entrance of Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre performing checks.
He said that the elderly woman told him that the "management removed the seat".
Ryaan, who felt that having the woman stand for the entirety of her duty was unfair, snapped a photo and posted it on Facebook on Tuesday (April 19).
At the time of writing, his post has received 3,100 shares and over 400 comments.
[embed]https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10160339395864114&set=a.10150266411179114[/embed]
"What the hell is this unfairness? She's fasting and the management has the audacity to remove the seat," Ryaan ranted in his post.
Likewise, fellow netizens were irate at how this woman was treated.
"Fasting or not, why is the management doing this? Do they work standing up too?" one Facebook user lamented.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) responded with a Facebook post on April 20, saying that it is aware of Ryaan's post.
The agency confirmed that the woman in the picture is a safe management personnel engaged to perform Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures checks.
NEA wrote that these personnel are not required to stand all day and "we understand that the work can be tiring, as it requires staff to be on their feet."
The agency added: "Therefore, they are put on shifts and there are scheduled breaks to ensure that they get adequate rest. They have also been informed that they can take short breaks within the hawker centres should they feel tired."
According to NEA, the woman in Ryaan's Facebook post was aware of this.
"We appreciate the hard work of all frontline staff, as well as the concern from members of the public for their well-being," the agency said.
NEA's Facebook post also said that the manned entry stations and temporary fencing at hawker centres are being progressively removed across Singapore.
In a Facebook post on March 26, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor said this will provide stallholders and patrons greater accessibility and convenience.