A group of seven Indian workers used a rope to hoist a woman to safety after her car fell into a sinkhole on a busy Singapore road. The workers, who were at a nearby construction site, tossed the rope into the sinkhole and pulled the female driver to safety in under five minutes. The incident has revived a debate on the rights of low-wage laborers in Singapore, who are often subject to abuses by recruitment agencies and employers, including overwork, unpaid labor, and poor living conditions. Despite their crucial role in building Singapore’s economy, many migrant workers earn as little as S$300 ($233) a month and live in crowded dormitories. Activists have long lobbied to ban the practice of ferrying workers on lorries, which has led to multiple accidents and deaths. The government has encouraged companies to transport workers on buses, but an outright ban on such trucks is not feasible for small businesses. The incident has also sparked a discussion on the lack of recognition and rights for migrant workers, who are often seen as a separate and inferior class. Some have criticized the government’s move to present the workers involved in the rescue with commemorative coins as tokenism, and have called for more substantial forms of appreciation, such as monetary rewards and permanent residency.
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