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By John Geddie, Joe Brock and Koustav Samanta SINGAPORE, June 9 (Reuters) – As Sharif Uddin contemplates leaving the cramped Singapore dormitory where he has spent weeks under coronavirus quarantine, fears about his future creep in. The 42-year-old Bangladeshi construction supervisor is one of thousands of low-income migrant workers trapped in packed bunk rooms that have been ravaged by the coronavirus, accounting for more than 90% of Singapore’s 38,000 infections. As Singapore began easing its lockdown measures this month, migrants like Uddin started to think about returning to the outside world, and whether a job would be available for him to help pay off his debts as Singapore braces for its deepest ever recession. “The fear of losing jobs is worrying everyone at the moment,” said Uddin, who sends the bulk of his wages to his family in Bangladesh and is still repaying loans taken to pay off his recruitment agent, like many of the South Asian migrant workers in Singapore. For Singapore, the system of cheap, imported labour to do jobs in the construction, shipping, manufacturing and service industries works effectively. When times are good, it means jobs that locals usually shun can be filled, but when the economy is weak, it is easy to cut back on foreign workers. That leaves migrant workers like Uddin vulnerable and at real risk of being forced to return to their home country where employment opportunities are scarce. In interviews with more than a dozen workers in Singapore, many said while they were still being paid, they feared they would lose their jobs when the quarantine is lifted. Uddin said Singapore was his “dream city” when he first arrived in 2008, but like many migrants he found most of his toil went towards paying family expenses and creditors, meaning he saved very little. He has worked on building Singapore’s subway, says he writes poetry and hopes to one day open a bookshop back in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. But already on his fourth job, he is still many years away from saving the money he needs. “The dreams of migrants … don’t get fulfilled very soon. It takes really long to chase them,” Uddin said. “As years pass – one year, two years, those initial big dreams and aspirations slowly start fading away.” The Singapore government has waived foreign worker levies for companies to try and ensure migrants get paid while under quarantine and introduced measures to help laid off workers find new positions without having to first travel back to their home country, a core complaint of many labourers. DEBT TRAPS Lawrence Wong, the co-head of Singapore’s virus taskforce, told Reuters the government’s waiving of levies and other steps have helped alleviate “major concerns” of workers around job security, but added that layoffs were possible given the grim economic outlook. “The contractor may have a project today, but down the road will they still have projects? That depends on the economy. So many uncertain factors when it comes to job security,” said Wong, who is also the minister for national development. He added that some workers may remain quarantined in their dormitories until August, or possibly beyond, as the government completes mass testing. The pandemic has drawn attention to the stark inequalities in the modern city-state where more than 300,000 labourers from Bangladesh, India and China often live in rooms for 12 to 20 men, working jobs that pay as little as S$20 ($14.30) a day. That is higher than they would make at home. But the median salary for Singaporean employees in 2019 was S$4,563 per month, according to the manpower ministry. The bigger worry for many migrants like Uddin is the debts they have racked up securing jobs in Singapore. Migrants will usually be charged S$7,000-10,000 in fees by a recruitment agent in their home country, equivalent to more than a year of their basic salary, according to rights groups. If they lose their job, this debt could haunt their families for years. “If there were no recruitment fees, that would solve almost all of these problems,” said Deborah Fordyce, president of Singapore NGO Transient Workers Count Too. “Recruitment costs are what keep them in debt.” DREAMS SOUR Wong, the minister, said the government will continue to work to improve migrants’ lives in Singapore, but tackling issues like fees is difficult because many agents operate in the workers’ home countries outside the city-state’s jurisdiction. Singapore’s government has pledged to improve living conditions for migrant workers in the short-term and build new, higher-spec dormitories over the coming years. Ali Nur Khan, a 25-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker, said when he first got a job in Singapore, he felt like he had “won the lottery”, but as the debts stacked up, and the low salary and basic living conditions hit home, his enthusiasm quickly faded. He said he has never called his family from his dormitory room because he is embarrassed. “Singapore was my dream country. But it was like a nightmare when I saw the dirty, crowded living place,” he said. Now, Khan said, “there is huge uncertainty. Nobody knows what is waiting for us”. Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party, which is months away from an election it is likely to win comfortably, also has to balance the needs of migrants with those of locals who are looking for financial support during an economic crisis. A 2019 U.N. study found that 60% of Singaporeans thought migrant workers should not receive the same pay and benefits as locals. There have been backlashes about rising numbers of foreign workers in the city-state, such as opposition to the building of dormitories near residential areas. The percentage of foreign workers in Singapore’s total labour force has risen from 3% in the 1970s to 38% today, according to data from Migration Policy Institute and the government. Some foreign labourers who come in search of a better life in Singapore leave feeling marginalised and disappointed, especially given the time they have sacrificed away from their families. On his tenth birthday last year, Uddin said his son reminded him that they had only spent seven months of his life together. “It hurts both of us the same way and I can’t do anything about it,” he said. ($1 = 1.3897 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by John Geddie, Joe Brock and Koustav Samanta; additional reporting by Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
2020年7月28日 Blog
By John Geddie, Joe Brock and Koustav Samanta SINGAPORE, June 9 (Reuters) – As Sharif Uddin contemplates …
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – Organizers have scrapped plans to mandate social distancing during President Donald Trump’s appearance at a July 3 Mount Rushmore fireworks display and won’t limit the crowd due to coronavirus concerns, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Thursday. The Republican governor said the National Park Service is dolling out 7,500 tickets via lottery for the event, which marks the first time in a decade that fireworks will be set off at the memorial in recognition of Independence Day. “There will be no better place to celebrate our independence,” Noem said. “We are excited that President Trump will be joining us for this event.” Event organizers did not reduce the number of tickets due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Noem said she isn’t concerned an influx of tourists would heighten the risk. Coronavirus infections are on a downward trend in the state and hospitals are prepared to handle more infections if needed, she said. People who don’t get tickets to the event will be able to gather outside the monument grounds to watch the fireworks, Noem said. Secretary of Tourism Jim Hagen said there will be fewer tickets offered than in previous years, but that was already in the works to help with crowd control. FILE – This March 22, 2019, file photo shows Mount Rushmore in Keystone, S.D. Organizers have scrapped plans to mandate social distancing during President Donald Trump’s appearance at a July 3, 2020, Mount Rushmore fireworks display and won’t limit the crowd due to coronavirus concerns, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Thursday, June 4, 2020. The Republican governor said the National Park Service is dolling out 7,500 tickets via lottery for the event, which marks the first time in a decade that fireworks will be set off at the memorial in recognition of Independence Day. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) The state is actively marketing itself as a summer tourism destination, but Hagen said he expects more people are interested in road trips rather than flying. South Dakota is focused on markets within driving distance, he said. This Dec. 8, 2019, photo shows shows Mount Rushmore in Keystone, S.D. Organizers have scrapped plans to mandate social distancing during President Donald Trump’s appearance at a July 3, 2020, Mount Rushmore fireworks display and won’t limit the crowd due to coronavirus concerns, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Thursday, June 4, 2020. The Republican governor said the National Park Service is dolling out 7,500 tickets via lottery for the event, which marks the first time in a decade that fireworks will be set off at the memorial in recognition of Independence Day. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves)
2020年7月27日 Blog
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – Organizers have scrapped plans to mandate social distancing during President Do …
You might think that winning the jackpot is random luck. But you can totally believe that the tips below will help you easily win the lottery. 10. Choose your own number One of the lottery experts Richard Lustig advises you to stay away from the numbers that many people choose and quickly choose your own number. You can choose by date of birth, phone number … These are options that are much more optimal than the random selection when you buy the lottery. 9. Study your numbers Do not choose numbers that have won a previous jackpot. The chance of winning the lottery when you guess it will be less than when you associate the selected numbers with the numbers that have appeared before. It can be very laborious, but the chance of winning the lottery will not spare your efforts. In mathematical theory, it takes more than 100 years for the lucky number to be repeated once. 8. Join the lottery in groups or unions This tip may not help you win a big prize, but it does improve your chances of winning. 7. Keep a balanced combination Some people believe that combining all odd or even numbers will bring good luck. Many people prefer a combination of 1,2,3,4,5,6, .. or 6,12,18,24,30,36. However, this is not necessarily reasonable. You should think of the numbers 10,23,42. 6. Using lottery software This software works on a mathematical system. Systems that provide statistics by year of results, numbers to help you win the chance. Compared to the initial advice, lottery software can help you with all the things you don’t want to do. Very few people have enough time to research and track the winning numbers and this is the fastest way for you to get the information. 5. Using mental therapy Believe this is not a stupid method because not everyone has the time to study individual numbers and connections on a mathematical scale. Many winners concede that they won thanks to the guidance of their dreams. This is completely provable but no one wants to argue about that. Even the lottery expert accs offers advice that you think positive and believe in your victory. 4. Select by random A lottery business spent $ 2,600 to conduct an interview, interview about 100 people who won the lottery and learn about their tactics when buying lottery tickets. Believe it or not, it is up to you but most of the winners admit they have made drawings at home. A number of options for throwing table tennis balls in the dryer. The problem is that they mimic randomness and follow it. This is a method for those who do not like rigid calculation. 3. Buy a ticket Of all the methods above, this is the best way for you to win. You have no chance of winning if you don’t own the lottery ticket. It is important that you regularly check it by many accs in case the lucky ticket was poured in the washing machine, water trough. Some cases are not accepted because the ticket holder has lost or forgotten it. Loterry online, soi cau xo xo mien bac mien phi 100%,
2020年7月27日 Blog
You might think that winning the jackpot is random luck. But you can totally believe that the tips below will …
