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450 needy foreign workers set to get new phones ahead of 3G shift

SINGAPORE — With less than two weeks to go before the 2G line is shut down, 450 foreign workers are set to receive new phones which would help them migrate to the 3G line – a result of a concerted effort by various parties in recent months.

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SINGAPORE — With less than two weeks to go before the 2G line is shut down, 450 foreign workers are set to receive new phones which would help them migrate to the 3G line – a result of a concerted effort by various parties in recent months.

Those involved in coordinating the efforts also noted that they have reached their goals due to the support from ordinary Singaporeans, indicating a growing awareness of the plight of foreign workers here.

For a large number of these workers, low-cost 2G phones provide the only link to families and friends back home. Buying a 3G phone, even a low-end one, can be prohibitive for many of them given their low wages.

On Tuesday (March 21), non-governmental organisation Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) distributed the first batch of mobile phones – numbering 50 – to foreign workers at an event at Desker Road.

TWC2 said 250 phones will be distributed by batches over the next few weeks. It had collected about 300 phones – donated by members of the public – but only half were good enough to be re-used.

Hence, the group bought 100 new phones using the S$11,458 received from a fund-raiser which started in September last year. The donations had exceeded the group’s target of S$10,000.

TWC2 treasurer Alex Au paid tribute to the “generosity and goodwill” of Singaporeans who had donated. “I would say it is a group effort. And it’s also an indication that there’s greater awareness of the plight of foreign workers, who are a vulnerable group,” he said.

Separately, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) said they expect to collect 100 phones – all donated by the public - by early April. For both TWC2 and Home, the phones will be given out to workers who are out of work and have no income because of injuries suffered at the workplace.

At Tuesday’s TWC2 event, the workers were all smiles when they received their new phones. One of them is 40-year-old Islam Mohd Eazul, who had been jobless for eight months because of a workplace injury.

“I am very happy because I have no money to buy a phone (to call home). I don’t even have any money to buy food. Singapore, thank you,” he added.

On top of efforts organised by NGOs, ordinary Singaporeans have also stepped in to offer their assistance. Three local photographers have raised a total of S$5,700 in donations from the sales of their print photographs. This was used to buy about 100 new 3G phones, each costing S$57.

Mr Darren Soh, an architectural and landscape photographer who started the fundraiser, said the phones will be handed over to Home for them to distribute to the workers.

With the 2G line set to be shut down come April 1, an Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) spokesperson told TODAY there are still 131,000 2G subscribers as of January this year. This is lower than the December tally which stood at 132,000 subscriptions.

Local telcos are also making last-ditch efforts to get its subscribers to migrate to the 3G line. A Singtel spokesperson said that it has been holding weekly roadshows in Little India, Geylang, City Plaza and Lucky Plaza to engage foreign workers about the 2G line’s impending closure.

Daily roadshows are also held at 11 dormitories, where Singtel’s employees help to resize or change customers’ SIM cards.

Another telco M1 said it has put up posters at foreign worker dormitories and distributed fliers at roadshows in areas where foreign workers usually congregate.

StarHub said it is deploying more manpower to assist customers and are contacting all remaining 2G users, including businesses, to get them to upgrade before the closing date.

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