7. Foreign Domestic Workers In Singapore

Abstract

This chapter examines how Singapore has emerged as one of the top employers of foreign domestic workers (FDWs), focusing on three aspects of the FDW issue: (1) government policies on labor, reproduction, and immigration, (2) the role played by employment agencies, and (3) the unique position of Singapore in relation to FDWs' career opportunities. In relation to the resistance of FDWs, this chapter ends with an incident that highlights the strength and agency of FDWs. The Singapore government's policies on FDWs are carefully engineered both to promote national economic development and to control the quality and quantity of the population. The policies are implemented by economic measures intended to encourage Singaporean women with higher educational and employment qualifications to stay in the workforce and, at the same time, to start their own families. The demand for FDWs in Singapore has also been buttressed by a proliferation of employment agencies. Keywords: foreign domestic workers (FDW); national economic development; Singapore