Singapore’s New Worker Dorm Tests Government’s Public Health Pledge
Advocates are concerned such infrastructure isn’t keeping pace with the rapid increase in foreign worker numbers.
The NESST Tukang Dormitory in Singapore. It is the first migrant worker housing to be wholly owned by the government.
Source: JTC Corp.
In the early days of Covid, Singapore’s worker dormitories quickly turned into a public health crisis as the virus tore through the structures where thousands of people often live in close proximity. The government promised to learn its lesson from the pandemic, and a new housing complex for workers is putting that pledge to the test.
The dormitory, called NESST Tukang — named for the entity set up by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to Nurture, Engage, Support, Shape and Transform migrant worker housing — sits in an industrial part of Singapore’s far west. Opened this year, it’s the first to be wholly owned by the government, which it built following consultations with workers.