Quick Links
Visiting Thai workers at 85 Kallang
On 25 March 2010 from 19.30 to 21.30 hrs. Ms. Nutcha Tritanyapong, Minister Counsellor of the Office of Labour Affairs in Singapore led a team comprising 5 officers – Ms. Lupthawan Walsh, Labour Affairs Counsellor, Dr. Tanya Laohathai, Consul, Mr. Watcharakrit Yaem-Ot, Mr. Rungroj Teekamongkol and Miss Monrawee Ampolpittayanant – to visit Thai workers at the Kallang Dormitory. The team received a warm welcome by Mr. Kenny Ta, the General Manager of Kallang Dormitory.
The Royal Thai Embassy, together with the Office of Labour Affairs, has been visiting Thai workers at various dormitories in Singapore every month as part of their joint attempt to try to improve the Thai workers’ welfare, whether the issues are related to their work or their personal lives. On this particular visit, the Thai officers met with 37 Thai workers out of a total of 51 Thai workers who are currently residing at the Kallang Dormitory.
Ms. Nutcha started off the conversation with the Thai workers by informing them of the role of the Office of Labour Affairs and encouraged them to take part in a number of activities which have now been made available in Singapore by the Thai Workers Association in order to better their standard of living here. Examples of such activities include the annual Football Tournament for Thai workers all over Singapore, language courses and long distance learning programme available at the Golden Mile Complex.
Ms. Tanya then informed them of the role of Consular Section at the Royal Thai Embassy and asked all Thai workers to fill in a registration form for Thai nationals which also includes a section for them to state their preference on whether they wish to cast their votes in Thai elections in Singapore or in Thailand. Each and every Thai worker was also given a Manual for Thais living in Singapore and the Hotline number of the Consular Section was highlighted to all participants so they can rest assured that the Embassy is willing to assist them 24 hours everyday.
Finally, the Thai workers then shared with the team of Thai officers about their experience in living and working in Singapore. This Q&A session went on for nearly 45 minutes. At the end of the meeting, Ms. Nutcha presented a gift to Mr. Kenny Ta as a small token of appreciation for having looked after our Thai workers well. The Thai workers also expressed their attitude to the team of Thai officers for having spent more than enough time to discuss their concerns in details.
The Kallang Dormitory is situated at 85 Kallang Road. It comprises 30 blocks of buildings, each of which was set for 50 persons. Currently, it houses a total of approximately one thousand and five hundreds workers with different nationalities, including those from Bangladesh, India, and Thailand. Facilities which are currently being provided include cleaning service (once a day, everyday), one minimart, hawker centre, one kitchen, television rooms, and a fully-staffed laundry room which provide laundry service for residents seven days a week in returns for vouchers (one voucher costs…).
