SINGAPORE — There is still room for improvement when it comes to giving cleaners, security officers, maintenance workers and low-wage workers better spaces for them to rest and take meal breaks.

This is one of the key reasons why the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation have released a set of guidelines to help employers set up proper rest areas for low-wage workers.

After more than 200 visits to check out rest areas for outsourced workers, including at food courts and malls islandwide, the ministry found that a number of them were cluttered and unhygienic, and had poor ventilation.

The new advisory released by the tripartite grouping on Monday (Dec 9) offers employers recommendations on how to enhance the condition of these spaces, such as by providing lockers for workers to safekeep their belongings, access to drinking water and adequate ventilation.

Rest areas should also be accessible and located in areas with privacy such as at the back-of-house or out of public view. Signs to indicate the areas should be used if it is not practical to provide privacy.

The guidelines are part of the Government’s Workcare initiative announced in April which seeks to improve the work environment of low-wage workers such as cleaners and security officers.

During a visit to the Alexandra Road outlet of furniture store Ikea, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Minister of State for Manpower, said: “Given the maturity of our economy and society, we can do more for the wellbeing of our outsourced workers and this is something that this tripartite advisory aims to do — to encourage companies to treat outsourced workers’ wellbeing as though they are extended family.”

In March, NTUC’s assistant secretary-general Zainal Sapari, who was also present at the visit, raised the issue in a blog post that chronicled his visits to worksites.

He highlighted well-equipped and well-ventilated rest areas provided by firms at the premises of Changi Airport Group, JTC Corporation and Suntec City.

However, there were also work premises that did not meet standards.

“We have been to a building where the cleaners were assigned (just) a small space carved out from an open garden as their rest area, which doubled up as an equipment storage area,” Mr Zainal wrote.

His visits also uncovered that landscape maintenance workers of a mall in the western part of Singapore were not given rest areas and were told to keep their personal belongings somewhere in a basement car park that is accessible to the public.

Over at condominiums and buildings, rest areas situated in the bin centre or inside the sprinkler pump room are a common sight, he wrote.

Mr Zainal told TODAY that he has provided feedback to the respective sites together with teams from NTUC U Care Centre, which supports low-wage workers on work-related issues, as well as the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees' Union.

At Ikea Alexandra, Mr Zaqy said that a good example of a rest area dedicated to outsourced workers is what the retailer has provided at its basement car park.

The 35sqm rest area — the size of two-and-a-half parking lots — has been there since the store opened in 1995. It was expanded in 2008 to be fully air-conditioned and houses lockers, refrigerators, a microwave oven and furniture such as a couch, a table and chairs.

The outsourced workers — most of them cleaners from facilities service company ISS — also have access to a co-worker pantry that offers subsidised meals at S$2 and complimentary tea and coffee.

Ms Janet Lee, human resource manager at Ikea Alexandra, said that 55 out of the 315 employees in the branch are outsourced. Of the 55, about 40 of them use the rest area regularly.

One of them, cleaner Sukati Paiti, 70, said that the rest area is one of the reasons why she returned to work at Ikea two years ago. She left previously to take care of her grandchildren at home.

“What people don’t realise is that many cleaners are elderly, so it helps to have a comfortable rest area we can go to during our breaks,” she told TODAY.

Ms Sukati added that some of her friends who work as cleaners elsewhere had told her that during their breaks, they have to rest near bin centres or in closets where stocks are kept.

Mr Simon David, assistant general manager of ISS, said that the retention rate at Ikea Alexandra is high because most of the staff members need not find an alternative place to rest.

He added that half of the 1,700 companies that contract ISS have rest areas, although some still need to be improved.

PRACTICAL CONSTRAINTS

In ensuring that the recommendations of the advisory are practical and can be carried out, the tripartite partners consulted more than 600 stakeholders, including property owners and low-wage outsourced workers.

They found that service buyers such as building managers are responsible for providing rest areas since they generally have control over the work premises of these workers.

However, service providers such as cleaning companies or sub-contractors can also be proactive in engaging service buyers to set up dedicated rest areas.

Mr Zainal acknowledged that there may be certain practical constraints in setting aside space for outsourced workers to rest, especially in premises such as condominiums and old buildings that were not designed with that purpose in mind.

Still, minimally, an unused room in the building that has a safekeeping area, seats and access to drinking water will suffice, Mr Zaqy suggested.

In its press release, MOM said: “As an upstream measure, property owners should incorporate rest areas in the planning and design of new properties or those undergoing renovation.”

Mr Zaqy added that with the wellbeing of these workers looked after, it is a “win-win situation” for most companies because these workers perform important roles.