HOME’s Statement On The Monitoring of Areas Where Foreign Domestic Workers Congregate.

On 4 February 2026, MP Ms Diana Pang Li Yen asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry monitors recurring congregation hotspots of foreign domestic workers on rest days; (b) what measures will the Ministry take to address persistent complaints involving noise, littering and noise-generating activities such as recording TikTok dances that have affected residents living near typical gathering hotspots; and (c) whether alternative gathering spaces can be provided or designated.

Dr Tan See Leng: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) monitors locations where migrant domestic workers (MDWs) congregate during their rest days and works with agencies and partners in the community to manage any disamenities that may arise in these areas. For example, we engage town councils and residents’ committees in these locations to co-create solutions that address noise and littering disamenities, while balancing the MDWs’ social and recreational needs.

Since 2025, we have been piloting the use of community spaces in Clementi and Paya Lebar to provide MDWs with accessible and conducive resting spaces on Sundays. We invite NGO partners to conduct recreational activities and training programmes at these spaces so that MDWs can spend their rest days meaningfully.

We also share information with MDWs on this via channels such as MOM’s MDW WhatsApp channel. MOM will continue to work with agencies and our partners to expand the number of alternative gathering spaces for MDWs to rest and unwind.

Even as we encourage MDWs to be considerate when using public spaces and endeavour to provide alternative gathering spaces for them, we do need to recognise that public spaces are shared by everyone, including MDWs on their rest days.  

HOME’s RESPONSE

HOME welcomes the Ministry of Manpower’s acknowledgement that migrant workers’ rest days and use of public space are legitimate, and that public spaces are shared by everyone.

We also welcome engagement and education efforts directed at migrant workers, so long as these are carried out in a dignified, respectful manner, and not framed as behavioural policing or surveillance. Like all members of society, migrant workers should be engaged as partners in shared spaces, not treated as subjects to be managed.

At the same time, we are concerned that the framing of “monitoring congregation hotspots” and “managing disamenities” risks positioning migrant workers themselves as the problem, rather than prompting a closer examination of the conditions surrounding these spaces. For instance, where littering is cited as an issue, it is worth asking whether there are sufficient bins and cleaning resources to meet the predictable surge in crowds on Sundays, rather than assuming individual misconduct.

For many migrant workers, gathering in public spaces is a necessity. MIgrant domestic workers (MDWs) live where they work, have little or no private space of their own, and are often discouraged from hosting friends in their employers’ homes. On their one guaranteed day off, public spaces become their only accessible places for rest, connection, and community.

While pilot community spaces and recreational programmes are positive steps, they should not become a means of pushing migrant workers out of visible public spaces or confining them to designated recreation centres away from public view. They should not have to be made less visible to be seen as acceptable. Rest should also not need to be “programmed” to be considered meaningful.

As Singapore's dependence on migrant labour grows, it is equally important that residents near these "hotspots" are engaged and educated to understand that migrant workers have every right to gather in public spaces, just like anyone else. Coexistence in shared spaces requires mutual adjustment, not the disproportionate regulation of one group.

Migrant workers are an integral part of Singapore’s social fabric. How we treat them on their rest days reflects not only our labour policies, but our values as a society.