Licensed Foreign Employee Dormitories

Assoc Prof Randolph Tan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many foreign employee dormitories are currently licensed; (b) how many licensed operators have had enforcement actions taken against them; and (c) whether there have been any cases of breach of licence conditions which have resulted in revocation of licences.

Mr Lim Swee Say: With the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (FEDA) coming into operation on 1 January 2016, larger foreign employee dormitories with 1,000 beds or more will require a licence to operate. Operators were given six months to apply for a licence. To date, all 57 dormitories which require a licence have submitted their applications. Nine licences have been issued, and the remaining applications are being processed. All the licensed dormitories are in compliance with the FEDA. No licences have been revoked.

The Ministry will conduct routine and ad-hoc inspections at all licensed dormitories to ensure that the operators abide by the licence conditions.