SINGAPORE, Jan 5 – Migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Singapore continue to face troubling food restrictions and malnutrition, with welfare organisations highlighting cases of deprivation and manipulation involving food.
Singapore-based CNA TODAY quoted the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) saying that it received about 630 annual complaints between 2019 and 2023 from MDWs regarding insufficient food.
“Most of these complaints stemmed from miscommunication between employers and their MDWs on dietary needs and habits,” said an MOM spokesman.
Meanwhile, Jaya Anil Kumar, senior manager at the civil group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), said many employers view food as sufficient if their helpers are not starving.
Jaya said some employers do not bother providing food items with essential nutrition, while others ignored religious and cultural sensitivities.
CNA TODAY reported two examples of such cases, including Farah (not real name), a 38-year-old MDW from the Philippines, who said her former employer criticised the smell of her cooking, forcing her to survive on instant noodles for months.
“I used to love preparing food, but in her case, it’s like a nightmare ... I lost 12 kg in three months and didn’t feel hungry anymore. I was just numb,” she reportedly said.
Priya, a 26-year-old MDW from India, said her employer restricted her food to leftovers and monitored her through cameras, leaving her constantly hungry. She secretly pocketed chapatis to eat later and relied on meals from friends on her day off.
HOME noted that food deprivation often coincides with other exploitative behaviours, such as verbal or physical abuse.
Employers may also use food as a form of control, restricting access as punishment or commenting on the quantity consumed.
Employers are required under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act to provide “adequate food,” but welfare groups say the term is too vague.
Farah and Priya have since left their employers and are rebuilding their lives with different employers.
