Dirty communal kitchen in Punggol dormitory due to shortage in cleaning crew: MOM, dorm operator

SINGAPORE — A dirty communal kitchen at PPT1B dormitory in Punggol was due to a shortage of cleaners last weekend, its operator S11 Dormitories and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in separate statements on Friday (Nov 12).

“This led to the accumulation of rubbish at one of the communal kitchens. The dormitory operator deployed its staff on Nov 8 to assist the cleaning crew in cleaning the communal kitchen,” the ministry elaborated in its statement.

A video of the communal kitchen in the dormitory was uploaded last Sunday on a migrant worker community's Facebook page called “In This Together”.

The video, which was shot by a dormitory resident on the same day, showed discarded food and plastic bags strewn across the kitchen floor and sinks on the premises located at 2 Seletar North Link.

Speaking to TODAY on Monday, the resident who took the video said that the kitchen had been in this state for more than a week despite calls by residents for the management to clean it.

The resident, who requested anonymity, described the kitchen as being full of rubbish and slippery due to oil on the floor.

The resident informed TODAY on Tuesday that the kitchen had been cleaned.

In response to TODAY’s queries sent on Monday, S11 Dormitories said that its cleaning crew had cleaned all communal kitchens in the dormitory last Saturday morning, including the one featured in the social media post.

The communal kitchens are cleaned every morning and the crew also clears the refuse at night, the operator said.

“Unfortunately, on the evening of Nov 6 and Nov 7, the cleaning crew faced a manpower shortage exacerbated by turnover and crew members on medical leave.

“On Nov 8, the dormitory staff and operations team took remedial action and assisted the cleaning crew to clean the communal kitchen, while the cleaning contractor worked on managing the manpower shortage situation.” 

S11 Dormitories added that there is now “a marked improvement” in the cleanliness of the communal kitchen featured in the video.

This was due to the action taken by the dormitory staff members and operations team to help the cleaning crew, as well as the initiative of the operations team “to help residents appreciate the importance of using bins” in the kitchens rather than littering.

It said that this was an isolated incident and the communal kitchens in the rest of the dormitory were well-maintained.

In its statement, MOM said that it was aware of the video and deployed its Forward Assurance and Support Team to investigate the matter on Monday.

The ministry added that it conducts regular checks on dormitories.

The PPT1B dormitory was last inspected on Nov 5 and Oct 25 this year and “no serious breaches in hygiene and cleanliness standards” were detected, MOM said.

Last month, food safety and hygiene issues due to food catered by their employer contributed to unrest among workers at the Westlite Jalan Tukang dormitory, where riot police were deployed.