Singapore, 12 August 2020 – With all foreign worker dormitories declared to be cleared of the coronavirus by the Inter-Agency Taskforce (ITF), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is implementing further measures to accelerate the restart of construction work safely. These include:
- Granting permission for all companies with foreign construction workers to resume work
- Reviewing the COVID-Safe Accommodation Criteria to allow more workers to support on-site work (BCA will step up its on-site audits and inspections)
- Staggering exercise of workers in FEDA-licensed dormitories by employers to be completed by 30 September 2020, while workers are allowed to continue working
All construction firms that employ foreign workers registered with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have been allowed to resume work without the need to apply to BCA for approval. Workers who have met the following four conditions would be allowed to resume work:
- Cleared of the COVID-19 infection
- Not on Stay-Home Notice (SHN)
- Installed the TraceTogether appcommunity-driven contact tracing in Singapore
- Staying in COVID-cleared accommodation
However, for deployment of workers at construction sites and supply works premises, main contractors are still required to apply for BCA’s approval to resume work.
As all dormitories have been cleared, BCA will temporarily suspend the accommodation restriction with immediate effect to facilitate a faster construction restart. During this time, employers should work towards arranging staggered schedules for their foreign workers in their accommodation.
With the support of MOM and ITF, BCA and the Economic Development Board (EDB) will work with operators of dormitories licensed by the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (FEDA) to facilitate staggered scheduling of workers in dormitories to minimise intermingling of workers.
The exercise will involve 43 FEDA-licensed dormitories housing approximately 160,000 workers. Employers and workers will be informed of the staggered schedule in advance, so that workers can prepare for the shift, including packing their personal belongings.
– Construction+ Online
