While the Covid-19 outbreak in worker dormitories has come under control, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) shows its commitment to look after the migrant workers and dormitory operators by forming a new division called the ACE group.
New division to take care of migrant workers and dormitory operators
The ACE group stands for Assurance, Care and Engagement which summarised its duty to keep Covid-19 at bay from the migrant worker population.
The group will provide assurance for the migrant workers living and working in the dormitories, including dormitory operators.
They will make healthcare more accessible and provide medical support to them, such as implementing 12 on-site medical centres and sectoral medical centres.
They will also partner Singaporeans, workers' groups, employers and dormitory operators to ensure all stakeholders are well-engaged.
The ACE Group will continue to deploy Forward Assurance and Support Teams (FASTs) to all purpose-built dormitories (PBDs), factory converted dormitories (FCDs), construction temporary quarters (CTQs) and private residential premises.
Fully operational by October
The ACE group will be taking over from the Inter-agency Taskforce (ITF), which comprises officers seconded from MOM, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Communications and Information as well as other agencies.
ITF was formed in early April 2020, less than 20 weeks ago, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak in dormitories.
In total, about 3,000 officers across the agencies were mobilised to tackle issues arising from dormitories due to the pandemic.
With all dormitories declared cleared of Covid-19, ITF will hand over its duties to the ACE Group in phases from August to September 2020.
Manpower minister Josephine Teo thanked all the officers for their contribution in a Facebook post today. Teo said:
"We had colleagues from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Ministry of Health, Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force and Ministry of Communications and Information come together for this collective effort. I have also met colleagues from agencies like the Singapore Tourism Board and Sports Singapore who chipped in to help. The work was seldom smooth-sailing but each of you answered the call of duty to serve our country and our community in an unprecedented global health crisis. Other stakeholders - NGOs, dormitory operators and employers – also stepped up. On festive occasions, everyone made an effort to bring some cheer to the workers.
It was Team Singapore in action, and that made all the difference."
The ACE Group will be fully operational by October 1.
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Top photo via MOM's Facebook