Construction of Phase 2 of Cross Island Line begins
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Asia Tonight - Sat 12 Jul 2025
21:43 Min About the show: Top stories of the day with 'live' reports and interviews to keep you up-to-date on what's happening in one of the most dynamic regions of the world. Daily at 8pm (SIN / HK)
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
We must do better': ItsRainingRaincoats founder on 10 years of helping Singapore's migrant workers
No matter where you are in Singapore, or what time it is, you'd have to purposely shut your eyes and cover your ears not to notice migrant workers about. They build our homes, paint our buildings, construct our roads, clean our streets and clear our trash, repair ships, and hold many other jobs. How Singaporeans viewed migrant workers a decade ago was a far cry from today. Then, it was a sentiment laced with indifference, sometimes animosity, suspicion, and even disdain. That negative perception towards migrant workers was one of the reasons Dipa Swaminathan founded ItsRainingRaincoats. 'They build our homes, our roads, our MRT stations – yet for a long time, they were seen but not truly acknowledged,' the 53-year-old Singaporean said. The story has been told many times, but still bears repeating: Over 10 years ago, Dipa was driving home in a thunderstorm when she spotted two workers trying to shield themselves from the rain with nothing but a piece of cardboard. She offered them a lift and gave them her phone number. One of them, Murugan, later called her. He told her that he had been charged with attempted suicide – he had been mistreated by his employers, had fallen into debt, and felt there was no way out. After Dipa, who is a lawyer, helped Murugan get his charges dropped and loans cleared, she felt compelled to continue looking out for migrant workers. She began doing so in her personal capacity but quickly realised she needed a team, and formed ItsRainingRaincoats. Back then, its purpose was simple: Have Singaporeans share what they had with them. A few friends joined her by pooling their items and money to support a few workers. The word about what they were doing to support this marginalised group in Singapore quickly spread and ItsRainingRaincoats slowly grew into a full-fledged movement. THE SHIFT TOWARDS CARING FOR MIGRANT WORKERS 'When we first started ItsRainingRaincoats, the perception of migrant workers was very poor,' Dipa, who works full-time as a legal risk manager, told CNA Women. Most migrant workers in Singapore are employed in physically demanding sectors like construction, shipyards and process industries. These are jobs with long hours and low pay – work that few locals are willing to take on. They usually come from countries such as India, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar. 'It's even in the language,' Dipa added. 'We call them migrant workers, while people who also moved from Bangladesh or other parts of Asia for work, but in white-collar roles, are called expatriates. 'But in reality, they're all here, far from home, working to improve their and their families' lives.' Back in the early 2010s, conversations about migrant workers were almost taboo. 'People barely even acknowledged their existence,' she said. 'And those who did, often chose not to look too closely, despite the fact that Singapore has literally been built on their backs.' I'm reminded of a moment in 2015, when I was in junior college. A friend said she didn't like going to Little India because there were 'too many workers' there, and she didn't feel comfortable. It wasn't just racism, which was bad enough – it was a reflection of a broader perception that migrant workers were out of place, even in the spaces they had helped to build. Worse, I didn't speak up at the time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ItsRainingRaincoats (@itsrainingraincoats) When I told Dipa this story, she nodded. 'That was the general sentiment back then – and not just among adults. Teenagers, children – many of them had grown up seeing workers as people to ignore, people who are 'meant to work for us'. They weren't seen as equals, let alone as people who deserved dignity, fair wages or inclusion.' To address this, ItsRainingRaincoats has organised countless programmes. They've hosted gatherings for iftar, the fast-breaking evening meal during the fasting month of Ramadan. The team of mostly volunteers has also worked with mosques, temples and churches to provide daily meals for workers and distribute cash donations. Dipa said that all proceeds from their fundraising work go to the workers as extra allowance for their needs, such as getting to the airport from their dormitories, or when they need to see the doctor. The charity has facilitated the gifting of pre-loved items – from fridges to washing machines, bicycles to portable air-conditioners – essentials to most Singaporeans, but often luxuries for workers living on tight budgets. However, while it was heartening to see Singaporeans come together to help migrant workers, Dipa knew that real change doesn't come from organising donation drives. It comes from changing mindsets to include these workers as part of Singapore – a much more arduous task. So ItsRainingRaincoats organised community events where Singapore families could interact directly with workers – family days, shared meals, festive celebrations. For every event, there was a mix of locals and migrant workers to allow genuine connections to form. Many local and international companies also collaborate with ItsRainingRaincoats on corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ItsRainingRaincoats (@itsrainingraincoats) These include Manager for a Day, where employees help sort and manage the donations ItsRainingRaincoats receives; Makan with Migrant Brothers, where they share a meal and meaningful conversation with migrant workers; and Weekend Outings, where employees accompany workers on recreational trips to places like the zoo, Gardens by the Bay and Universal Studios Singapore. ItsRainingRaincoats also began featuring stories from workers in their own voices and languages. The organisation shared these on social media, in addition to articles and photos. It gave workers the opportunity to speak for themselves, rather than be spoken about. 'We've come a very, very long way,' Dipa said. 'And I'm certain that students in junior college today – even if not all – would think differently [about migrant workers].' MORE SUSTAINABLE SUPPORT FOR MIGRANT WORKERS While ItsRainingRaincoats and other organisations have made a difference in improving how migrant workers are perceived in Singapore, Dipa is clear-eyed about the road ahead. As with any social justice cause, she said, 'there's always room for improvement'. 'When the pandemic happened, so much attention was finally given to the workers because of the horrible conditions they were subjected to in the dormitories,' she said. ItsRainingRaincoats saw an unprecedented surge in public support. Donations poured in – clothes, food, money – and the calls for stronger protection grew louder. Migrant workers became a national topic. Their well-being was discussed in parliament, and people were even discussing their right to be part of the National Day celebrations. 'It was a heartening moment,' Dipa said. 'It showed us that Singaporeans and people living here do care. It made us believe ItsRainingRaincoats could grow even more – the support was real.' Five years after the pandemic, Dipa stresses the importance of sustaining that support. She points to ongoing issues that migrant workers continue to face, starting with one that's been raised again and again: Unsafe transportation. 'Lorries,' she said. ' Unsafe transportation is such a frustrating topic for so many members of the public. This has been going on for so long, and yet, in the last 10 years, so many deaths have still happened this way. 'We sit in the comfort of our cars and we feel a collective shame and guilt every time something happens, but the system still hasn't changed.' Then, there's the matter of wages. She shared that from her ongoing conversations with workers, some still earn as little as S$18 a day. That's for a full day's worth of intense, physically demanding labour under the brutal sun. And even then, she said: 'Many don't get paid on time.' She gives an example of a painter she knows – someone who works on towering buildings, 30 floors up. 'These men haul their own 60- to 70-kilogram bodies, along with more weight of gear. Everything depends on the strength of a single rope. 'It's not a thrill-seeking bungee jump – it's their job. They do it every single day, hanging outside buildings to paint our homes, our malls, our offices. 'And yet, who's checking the safety of that rope? Who's ensuring they don't die while painting the places we live in? 'Earning S$18 a day for that kind of risk doesn't just make it hard to save, it makes basic survival a challenge,' she said. 'Soap, toiletries, clothes, medicine, even Wi-Fi to call home – all of it has to come out of that.' Still, Dipa remains committed. As most of these are policy-related issues, ItsRainingRaincoats, along with other migrant workers' rights and support organisations like Transient Workers Count Too and Migrant Workers' Centre, attend sessions with Members of Parliament and other key decision-makers to address these concerns. 'Some of these issues seem bleak, and I have more questions than answers these days. But the key is to keep going. We have to keep going. We must do better as a society.' PASSING THE MANTLE TO THE NEXT TEAM Dipa started ItsRainingRaincoats with just a few trusted friends. Today, it has two full-time staff and is supported by hundreds of regular volunteers and thousands of ad-hoc ones, many of whom are willing to dip into their own pockets to buy items or offer help whenever a worker is in need. 'So much time has passed since then. I'm 10 years older, my boys are all grown up, and my mum is now 91,' she said. 'It's incredibly heartwarming to see so many people come together for this often overlooked corner of our community.' Dipa's sons are 20 and 17 years old. 'There's no 'out of office' for ItsRainingRaincoats,' she said, half laughing. 'As a lawyer, I can switch off. But for this, I'm always reachable. It's been hard and relentless some days, juggling caregiving, raising my sons and managing my day job, but I feel a debt to the workers, so I've never turned my back on them. 'We've created a kind of social net, and if we stop doing what we do, that net disappears.' Despite the challenges, she chooses to focus on ItsRainingRaincoats' bright spots and impact, and the passion of the young. 'There's a natural empathy in young people,' she said. 'They see something unfair, and they instinctively want to do something about it.' The challenge, she said, is keeping that interest alive. 'Sometimes it's easy to want to give up and feel as though nothing's really changed,' she said. 'But looking back at these 10 years, I realised that so much has changed. Now, many people in Singapore show up for the people who built – and continue to build – our country. 'Seeing them, I'm filled with hope. And that's what keeps me going forward.'
Independent Singapore
13 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Maids forced to sleep in bomb shelters: Singaporean woman asks, 'Why not employers try to sleep in one for themselves first?'
SINGAPORE: In Singapore, where real estate is precious and space is tighter than your grab driver's parking spot on a Saturday night, families are turning to creative solutions. Unfortunately, not all of them are kind. The 'maid room' — a term now synonymous with bomb shelters and utility rooms in many Build-to-Order (BTO) flats and condos. Once built for emergencies, these small, windowless boxes are increasingly being rebranded as living quarters for foreign domestic workers (FDWs). But are we disguising practicality as progress? Or simply camouflaging discomfort? Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco RICE Media hit the streets to find out, and what they uncovered was a complex mix of justification, concern, and quiet suffering. When being pragmatic becomes problematic 'I think this is very inhumane to let the maid sit in the bomb shelter. I don't think it will have proper ventilation,' said one woman who was interviewed. And she's not alone in thinking that a room built to withstand explosions might not be the coziest space to catch some shut-eye. But not everyone sees it that way. Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco 'I think using the bomb shelter or laundry room as a maid's room is okay because some people just do not have an extra room to be able to help give to the helper,' said one resident, pointing out the harsh reality of space constraints in Singaporean homes. One employer admitted: 'I have a live-in helper with me. She stays in the utility room by herself… to be pragmatic, is there an alternative?' Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco That seems to be the prevailing sentiment — pragmatism over perfection. Space-saving or soul-crushing? To understand how livable these spaces truly are, RICE Media spoke to the helpers themselves. And let's just say, 'cozy' isn't exactly the word they'd use. 'My employer said, 'You cannot touch the room, you cannot go inside because you cannot stay inside the bomb shelter for so long,'' shared one domestic worker, visibly concerned. Another helper said bluntly, 'It's not okay to sleep in the bomb shelter. I want my room to be very comfortable for rest, so that I can do my work properly the next day,' and summed it up with: 'We respect you, and you can also respect us.' Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco The recurring theme? Rest is not a luxury; it's a requirement for good work. Yet many helpers report cramped quarters, lack of privacy, and even safety issues. Store rooms, not storm rooms Some employers take a more conscientious approach, as the earlier one explained how when he had two helpers and only one utility room, he offered the larger bedroom, but surprisingly, both helpers wanted the smaller one, likely out of shyness. 'I think minimally, employers must provide a wall fan… and the door has to be opened. If privacy is an issue, maybe you can have a small curtain or cloth covering,' he said. Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco And others go further. 'If you have the money to hire a helper, you should be able to provide the helper with the right amenities and the right place to stay,' said another woman, who shared she had friends who turned their spare storeroom into a bedroom by clearing it out for their helpers. Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco It's also a sentiment echoed by the interviewed resident, who described horror stories of helpers sleeping in bomb shelters stacked with boxes, which are uncomfortable and dangerously unsafe. 'In newer estates like Sengkang, these rooms are two by one meters at most. Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco That's the biggest it gets. Other places just get smaller and smaller.' A place to sleep or a place to rest? One domestic helper pointed out the stress of having no personal space at all: 'I have a friend who sleeps in the living room… her employer is still in the living room, so she cannot sleep early. So she always sleeps late.' Another stressed the importance of simple dignity: 'Privacy is very important…' Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco A good night's sleep should not be a workplace perk — it should be a basic right. 'We're not asking for a big room. We're asking for it to be comfortable enough so we can rest after work,' she added. Humanity over hierarchy Despite the grim stories, not all employers treat their helpers as invisible labour. 'I told my helper that as long as she finishes her job, she can do whatever she wants,' the employer shared. 'We can't help them reunite with their family often. But if you let them have access to the internet, they might feel happier… so treat them like a normal human being, treat them like a fellow colleague or a younger brother or sister.' Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco The earlier resident who was interviewed also urged the community to shed its bias. 'Sometimes when I hang out with my friends, I see a bunch of helpers during the weekends. And there are comments — 'Oh, it's them again,' or 'They're making a ruckus.' Just let them live. They're coming here to help our economy. They have no ill intent at all. Try to integrate them into our community,' he advised. The uncomfortable truth The growing rebranding of bomb shelters as 'maid rooms' might look like an architectural convenience. But at its core lies a tough question: are we offering our helpers a place to live, or merely a place to stay? Many Singaporeans would never consider placing a family member in a bomb shelter. Yet for some, it's deemed acceptable for the person who cooks their meals, cares for their children, and supports their elderly parents. Photo: YT screengrab/@ricemediaco If foreign domestic helpers are expected to treat their employers' families like their own, shouldn't they be treated like part of the household too? As the woman who was interviewed above put it: 'I'll tell people who ask helpers to sleep in the bomb shelter — why not they try for themselves first? If they can survive, then it's okay.' Check out the RICE Media 's episode Singapore, Unfiltered video below to witness the full street interview while exploring their perspectives even more in depth: Read related: Domestic helpers in Singapore: We left our own children behind to raise yours, but you treat us like second-class citizens, without even basic dignity
