Abstract
This chapter provides a thick description of the experiences of men who are deployed in exploitative work in or through Singapore. Men’s experiences of exploitation are discussed in detail in the first half of the chapter, whilst discussion in the latter half distils these experiences to gauge the precise ways they are discursively re-framed, largely through the media’s role, as beyond the reach of the state’s anti-trafficking architecture. This discussion thus builds on the suggestion made in Chap. 4—and further expounded in Chap. 5 where migrant women were discussed—that one of the ways male migrant workers are excluded from trafficking victimhood is through the discursive re-inscription of their experiences through the media.
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Notes
- 1.
The ILO , for example, estimates the number of forced labourers globally to be at 21 million persons, with 11 million of these in the Asian region, that is, 3 out of every 1000 people are in forced labour situations in Asia (ILO n.d.). Whilst there is some degree of scepticism over such estimates (Feingold 2017; Rogaly 2008), there is enough evidence coming forward to suggest trafficking for forced labour is a significant and growing problem in the region.
- 2.
The current levy rates and their expected increases can be viewed here: http://www.mom.gov.sg/~/media/mom/documents/services-forms/passes/schedule_of_levy_changes.pdf. Currently, the levy rates for R1 Tier 3 workers in the service sector ($600) are actually lower or similar to the levy rates for R1 Tier 3 workers with MYE Waiver ($600–$700).
- 3.
The lodge that was the subject of focus in this The Straits Times story was Avery Lodge in Jurong. The dormitory room at the lodge, the article emphasises, ‘has a high ceiling and bay windows, and comes with an attached bathroom and a kitchen’. It also has biometric security (although it is not entirely clear how this is of benefit to the workers) and a barber’s shop.
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Yea, S. (2020). (Un)identified Men and Labour Exploitation. In: Paved with Good Intentions?. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3239-5_6
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