Campaign Plan – FDWs – Health and Wellbeing

Background

Foreign Domestic Workers (FDW) have become a relatively common feature in Singapore households

since the 1970’s, when more women began to participate in paid work within the Singapore economy

and tasks previous undertaken by women at home such as cooking, cleaning and caring for other family

members were outsourced to inexpensive imported labor from poor areas within countries such as

India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka etc.

Unfortunately, there are all too frequent reports of FDW abuse being reported in the media, both in

Singapore and in the foreign media. Examples include the following:

1) Physical abuse

2) Verbal abuse

3) Preventing communication with family or others

4) Isolation

5) Sexual abuse

6) Starving the FDW

7) Unpaid wages

It has been suggested that some of the problems experienced in Singapore are as a result of cultural

issues, whereby, for example people are judged according to their income. Measured by this standard,

FDWs are clearly at a disadvantage as they are inferior by their very income. Coupled with the means by

which they are recruited, government regulations and the nature of the work that they are doing, it is

not difficult to see how easy FDWs might be prone to exploitation and/or abuse. In this campaign, we

are particularly interested in the health and well-being of FDWs in Singapore and improving these

aspects of their lives.

Things are changing, albeit slowly. Social media certainly helps by providing channels whereby FDWs cab

be connected . The NUS too has helped enormously, for example by providing training for FDWs to

become mentors for others. There are other organizations too such as HOME and Facebook groups such

as FAST that are making a difference. However, it has been argued that Singapore is a society that needs

to undergo a transformation, particularly in its attitude to Foreign Domestic Workers, most of whom are

women. The headlines spelling out sexual and other abuse do not reflect well on Singapore society and

it might be argued that more empathy might be required from FDW employers.

Situational Analysis

Singapore gets a lot of bad press (literally) in relation to the apparent treatment of FDWs. While some of

the news may well be exaggerated, or otherwise sensationalized, many argue that there is no smoke

without fire and that ultimately, the headlines are a window into Singapore’s attitude to FDWs.

The following headlines are fairly typical:

Singapore's domestic workers routinely exploited and often abused in the service of rich nationals

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/singapores-domestic-workers-routinely-exploited-and-

often-abused-in-the-service-of-rich-nationals-10422589.html

Singapore's migrant domestic workers face food rationing, long hours and sexual abuse

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-06/migrant-domestic-workers-in-singapore-face-constant-

exploitation/7302760

Prevalence of Domestic Worker Abuse in Singapore – it’s more than just our culture

http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/12/prevalence-of-domestic-worker-abuse-in-singapore-its-more-

than-just-our-culture/

Couple on trial for abuse offered bribes to silence maid

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/couple-on-trial-for-

abuse/2664324.html?cx_tag=similar&cid=tg:recos:similar:standard#cxrecs_s

Maid to Order - Ending Abuses Against Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore https://www.hrw.org/report/2005/12/06/maid-order/ending-abuses-against-migrant-domestic-

workers-singapore

More recently: Courts see more cases of maids being abused

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-see-more-cases-of-maids-being-abused

The situation that the FDWs in Singapore find themselves in, is that often driven by poverty at home,

they seek employment in Singapore where relative to earnings in their home countries. Although the

employment of so-called FDWs is regulated in Singapore it appears that the conditions that the FDWs

are subjected to are often unacceptable.

Either the usual channels for complaint are inadequate, or there are other reasons for not wishing to go

down this route, but the media frequently has stories of a variety of abuses, suicides, FDWs being

injured trying to escape and running away from intolerant situations.

Things are changing, albeit slowly. Social media certainly helps by providing channels whereby FDWs can

be connected . The NUS too has helped enormously, for example by providing training for FDWs to

become mentors for others. There are other organizations too such as HOME and Facebook groups such

as FAST that are making a difference. However, it has been argued that Singapore is a society that needs

to undergo a transformation, particularly in its attitude to Foreign Domestic Workers, most of whom are

women. The headlines spelling out sexual and other abuse do not reflect well on Singapore society and

it might be argued that more empathy might be required from FDW employers.

Possible causes

It is suggested that there are Cultural Reasons for the way that Singapore national treat the FDWs. Be

that as it may, reports of abuse are frequent and FDWs in most cases seem reluctant to avail themselves

of the prescribed complaint channels. It needs to be remembered that many of the FDWs are suffering

from amongst other things, homesickness and the stress that being apart from family and friends for

protracted periods may bring. If they are then treated as second-class by their employer, or even worse,

this will merely compound the problem. Suicide amongst FDWs is not uncommon, nor are cases of FDWs

being seriously injured trying to escape e.g. when they fall from a high window etc. The presence of the

Homes charity and all the support that they give to large numbers of FDWs, suggests that for a

significant number of foreign workers, working in Singapore is having a detrimental effect on their

welfare.

The Key Publics

There are several audiences here both primary and secondary that we may wish to communicate with.

These include:

a) The FDWs themselves. These are the very people who we are looking to help and the one’s with

the issues that need resolution. We will want to determine, amongst other things, an effective

way of communicating with them. Leveraging new media is probably the way forward.

b) Employers of FDWs and the agencies that arrange employment. Communicating with the

employers of FDWs and ensuring trying to change their attitudes may help the FDWs to enjoy a

better quality of life. The agencies too are routinely accused of exploiting, or otherwise

mistreating FDWs.

c) The Singapore Government. The government appears to be taking a view that they are doing

enough. All the regulations and the manner that they are being implemented and enforced,

seem designed to exclude FDWs from integration into Singapore society. I have yet to find

anything research that supports the idea that FDWs want to stay in Singapore permanently.

C.f. http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/srn/?research-gallery=transnational-domestic-workers-in-global-

city-singapore Having better protection through legislation and stricter penalties for employers

that break the rules might be a way forward. Primary research might reveal other countries

where Foreign workers appear to enjoy better rights and quality of life and this might persuade

the government. The Singapore Government has also not always shown itself to be sensitive to

migrant workers e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35129247 “Singapore's Ministry

of Manpower has drawn criticism on social media over a post about foreign workers.” .

d) Charities and / or NGOs like HOMES and FAST. These organizations are well aware of the issues

confronting FDWs and it is important to keep them in the loop and exchange information with

them. I would include NUS in this category too.

e) The Singapore public. It may be that perceptions and attitudes might be changed if the public at

large in Singapore was better informed.

SWOT

Strengths Weakness

Opportunities

FDWs have domestic labour hat they can sell to Singapore employers. This provides them with an opportunity to earn far more money that they can then send home to support their fami-ly. They also have the opportunity to acquire new language and other skills.

FDWs are often not well-educated and may have poor language skills. Homesickness and other stress is ever present. Working in Singapore pro-vides FDWs with the opportunity to learn new skills and enhance their language skills etc. while gaining work experience.

Threats

While FDWs have something to sell i.e. their domestic labour, this is some-thing that is not in short supply. If FDWs do not accept being treated as second-class, they can easily be re-placed and the FDW may face further humiliation from their family as a result.

The fact that FDWs are not highly skilled means that they are easily dis-pensible and can easily be replaced. Abuse is an ever present risk for some. FDWs enjoy little protection from legislation and some will simply suffer in silence.

Segmentation

FDWs are all female. They are only required to have 8 years of education and must be aged between 23

and 50 when a permit application is made. They are also from a variety of countries. Different

approaches are clearly required for different segments. Considerations need to be made for:

a) Language – appropriate language must be used to communicate effectively with national from

different countries.

b) Age – FDWs cover a wide range of ages. Different approaches can and should be used for

different age bands i.e. (<20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50+).

c) Social Media – different social media channels appeal to different age groups. Further research

will be required to determine how this may be applicable here.

d) The length of time that the FDW has been in the country will may affect the approach that

should be followed for each segment.

In relation to the employers, we will simply attempt todo this by ageband, since our budget

precludes anything more sophisticated.

Problem statement

Stress amongst Foreign Domestic Servants treated as second-class citizens in Singapore, particularly as

far as their health and well-being is concerned. Can new media help to deal with issues face by FDWs?

The media is awash with examples of FDWs suffering various indignities and worse at the hands of the

employers. It should be made clear that although there are a relatively high number of incidents

reported in the media, there is no suggestion that the entire population of FDW employers in Singapore

behave in this manner. There are also more recently, more positive stories and the tide may be turning.

From keeping FDWs connected to family and friends, both in Singapore and at home, to sharing issues

and experiences in groups, it appear that social media may well have a role to play. Nevertheless more

legislative protection for FDWs and enforcement when necessary would be most welcome.

Things need to change! As a society, Singaporeans must concern themselves with the health and both

physical and mental well-being of the foreign domestic worker that provide such a valuable service in

Singapore and to the economy of Singapore. It is this ultimately, that this PR campaign seeks to address

by raising awareness of health and well-being issues experienced by FDWs as a result of discrimination

and loss of dignity and in some instances, ignorance about the cultural norm and other ethnic

differences, including diet that the FDWs hold dear.

Goals and objectives

We have set ourselves goals of raising awareness, as well as changing attitude and behavior, amongst

Singaporean nationals, and the employers of FDWs in particular, about the plight of the foreign workers

and how mistreatment was affecting their health and well-being.

We know that much good work has already been done by NUS, FAST, HOME and other organizations,

but most of this has been directed at helping FDWs, rather than attempting to deal with the source of

the problem i.e. the employers themselves. We are going to manage our campaign by objectives and

this will ensure that we produce, inter alia, messages relevant to our campaign and criteria that we can

measure the success of our campaign against.

In terms of objectives, therefore, we are broadly following the hierarchy of effects model:

a) Seeking to raise awareness and provide knowledge to particularly employers of FDWs, although

we are seeking a cultural change here across Singaporean Society, therefore the whole

population is our target audience, with particular segments of these as distinct target audiences.

We will aim to increase awareness by at least 50% in the first 6 months and the same amount

again in the next 6 months. We will be measuring specifically the levels of awareness about

serious issues that confront FDWs. For the purposes of the exercise, we will have a number of

groups that we will select using random sampling techniques, including groups of employers of

FDWs, non-employers of FDWs and a group containing both. Measurement of this awareness

would be by surveys undertaken before, during and after the campaign. In this way, we will

evaluate our campaigns success.

b) Seeking to change attitudes about FDWs and recognizing the valuable contribution that they

make. This may be difficult as the value that the society places on income as an measure of how

people should be treated, needs to change. There are several initiatives that employers may

follow, such as encouraging their workers to stay connected with their community by giving

them the time and other means to make this possible. Encouraging further education etc. would

also be a desirable outcome. Random sampling of FDWs and surveying them before, during and

after the campaign, is the mechanism by which we intend to gauge changes in attitude. We

would seek to see a positive change in attitude in an amount of a 50% increase in change in

employer attitude after 12 months.

c) Seeking to change behavior by employers towards their workers that would otherwise

negatively impact their health and well-being. This behavior change will again be measured by

surveys undertaken before, during and after the campaign, with a target of reducing reports of

negative behavior by 50% within 12 months. The surveys will be given to FDWs to complete,

measuring e.g. the number of days that they had off etc.

We will further segment the audience using age banding and further analyze the results in an attempt to

discover if this yields any useful information. We will also measure the campaigns success against the

number of members on Social Media Groups and activity on the various Social Media Sites.

If our budget allows, we will also be measuring sentiment on social media using semantic analysis tool.

This would be in relation to all three i.e. awareness, attitude and behavior. We would seek to

demonstrate a doubling (100%) of positive reports and a halving (50% ) of negative reports after 12

months i.e. Motivational Objectives.

Survey topics include:

a) Awareness in relation to poor treatment compromising FDWs health and well-being.

b) Knowledge by FDWS of their rights and where to get help if things go wrong.

c) Knowledge by Employers of FDWs of the FDWs rights.

d) Respect shown to, and felt by FDWs

Finally, we believe that the above are SMART objectives, insofar as they are:

a) Specific enough for our campaign. This will be clarified further in the evaluation section below.

b) Measurable in quantifiable terms comparing values at different stages of the campaign. Also

clarified further in the evaluation section.

c) Achievable in that we believe that we can leverage the work already undertaken by NUS and

FAST etc. to meet the specified objectives.

d) Relevant in the sense that employers and others should as a matter of course view FDWs more

favourably and concern themselves with their health and well-being.

e) Time-period in that we have set very specific time goals for our objectives i.e. 6 and 12 months

for all three.

Strategies

We have set out our objectives previously in relation to FDWs and how we can raise awareness as well

as change attitude and behavior amongst employers of foreign nationals. We need a mechanism by

which we are going to achieve these objectives and this process is our strategy. The biggest problem

here, is that we have, what appears to be a very small budget. Our research shows us that we need to

put knowledge about the need to care for FDWs our there, reminding employers of the works that they

do, often for relatively poor wages and poor living conditions, whereby the FDWs health and well-being

is affected.

In order to reach our objectives (raising awareness as well as changing attitude and behavior) on the

small budget that we have, it is imperative that we:

a) Source strategy – Our source strategy is is to show best practice of treating FDWs, by using a

celebrity to endorse our campaign and tell a story. We will also seek out other positive examples

in the media and invite FDWs to contribute through social media.

The rationale behind this is that celebrity endorsement in this way tends to generate more

interest and the positive aspect of our story telling is that it is something that creates a feel good

effect that people might consciously or unconsciously want to emulate.

b) Channel strategy – Our channel strategy evolves mainly around the use of new media,

especially facebook, twitter, our blog and partner sites, groups and other new media presence.

The rationale behind this, is that we have a very small budget and new media and social media

in particular, provides the perfect vehicle for helping is to get our message across. If we get it

right, the story, or messages may go viral, increasing our reach even further. We also know that

Singaporeans use Social Media extensively and our aim is to create an environment where FDWs

can share stories. The use of other organizations out there, like FAST and HOME, will also help

proliferate our message faster. The same is true of the Singapore government who .

c) Appeal strategy – Our appeal strategy is one where we appeal to the empathy of FDW

employers who treat their workers badly.

The rationale behind this is that it may prick the conscience of poor employers who can identify

with the message. The awareness raised may also cause a shift in attitude whereby society will

react negatively towards those who treat FDWs badly.

d) Content strategy – Our content strategy is to use an emotional appeal to reach employers of

FDWs and Singaporean society in general. We will use positive success stories and other content

supplied by FDWs and their employers to also improve the image of the employers.

The rationale behind this is that by promoting positive stories about FDWs, this might touch the

target audience and ultimately bring about a shift in attitude and behavior i.e. including the

FDW almost as a member of the family. We will use Twitter and Instagram to publish snackable

content. Full meal content will be published on Facebook and on our blog / website. Much of

the content will also be organic.

Tactics

a) Set up a WordPress website / blog

Rationale - WordPress is a relatively inexpensive new media means for us to share stories and

invite contributions from FDWs and employers alike.

b) Create a Hootsuite account for use to deploy appropriate stories and other mmessages across

all available Social Media Channels.

Rationale – These publishing platforms are are extremely effective at sharing content in a quick

and easy to use way.

c) Find a suitable celebrity who will endorse our campaign for free, preferably one who employs an

FDW and who has a good and honest story to tell.

Rationale – Celebrity endorsement is an extremely effective way to get the public at large to

take an interest I our campaign.

d) Engage a photographer to take photographs for our campaign.

Rationale – We are using a celebrity and we need to be sure that images are appropriate and

that the quality is professional.

e) Engage with Journalists.

Rationale – This is an effective and free way of getting our story into traditional media, both

broadcast (TV, Radio) and print, as well as on their new media sites and blogs. Advertorials may

be a possibility this way too.

f) Get FDWs and other interested parties to sign up to newsletters. Invite them to post comments

on the blog

Rationale - Email is again an inexpensive way to reach people in large numbers. The newsletter

will help to keep them to keep them informed and connected. Invite comments on the blog.

g) Create podcasts for FDWs informing them of the rights and other areas of interest to them.

Rationale- Podcasts are yet another means by which FDWs can be kept better informed.

h) Create a low key advertising campaign for placement at train and bus stations etc. , using the

celebrity and advising of the social media presence.

Rationale – The celebrity image will be familiar and will encourage the public to visit various social

media sites and our blog etc. This method has been used successfully in the past.c.f

http://www.respectfdwrights.com/

Budget

Clearly the budget of S$1500 is not much for a PR campaign like this. Therefore, to keep the costs down,

we will employ mainly social media to get our message out. A summary of our tactics and strategy is as

follows:

a) We will engage with other organizations out there that have a similar or related purpose in order to

help spread the message to all Singaporean, especially employers of FDWs. This includes

organizations like the Foreign Domestic Servants Association for Social Support and Training (FAST)

and HOME. There will be little or no cost to us for doing this.

b) Our key message is one of empathy and is trying to persuade using emotional appeal. Ultimately,

our channel here are social media, something that Singaporeans use extensively and importantly as

far as our budget is concerned, free, or inexpensive.

c) We will use HootSuite, or similar to get our message out. Since the free version is a little restrictive

for our purpose, We will subscribe to the PRO version that will cost circa. S $200 per year, that is, if

we are unable to persuade HootSuite to sponsor us and allow us free acces to their publishing

platform.

d) We will require a domain name and webhosting facility for our website / blog. That will cost us

circa. S $100 per year. The site / blog will use WordPress that is free and relatively easy to set up.

Nevertheless, we anticipate that we may have to pay S$200 for professional help to set it up.

e) We intend to use a celebrity in our campaign and we wil need to find one who will give up there

time for free. We have set aside S$500 for help with basic photography / short film clip of the

celebrity. Hopefully, we might get sponsorship for some, or all of the above.

f) We will require copywriting services to help get our message across. For this, we are budgeting S

$200

g) We also anticipate that we will have some travel expenses and S $100 is allowed for this.

h) Finally, we have allowed S $200 for a low-key A4 poster campaign at the main Railway Stations in

Singapore.

Rationale

Our rationale is that by exploiting social media and other forms of new media, we can make the most of

the very limited budget available to us. Journalists will also be asked to participate and in this way, we

will hopefully get our message our through traditional print and broadcast media too. Again, there will

be little, or no cost for this.

Leveraging new media in this way will be the most effective means of getting fast and deep penetration

of our message. If we can find the right celebrity and get our messages right, we can change the cultural

attitudes towards the FDWs in the long term. A viral campaign is really what we are hoping for, driving

health and well-being benefits to FDWs throughout Singapore.

The budget breakdown is as follows:

S$200 - HootSuite broadcast platform

S$100 - Domain Name and hosting for website / blog

S$200 – Help to set up WordPress Site / Blog

S$500 – Survey Monkey

$$0 – Celebrity attendance

S$200 – Photography

S$100 – Travel expenses

S$200 – Bus and train station advertising

Bear in mind that we intend to approach various organizations providing these services with a view to

receiving discounts and/or some other form of sponsorship.

Evaluation

The evaluation of our FDW awareness campaign is perhaps the most vital part. Essentially, we need a

mechanism to discover the effect of our strategy and tactics in a manner that we can communicate to

the stakeholders. In other words, are we getting our message out there to our target audiences

(employers and FDWs) in Singapore i.e. knowledge and raising awareness and are they changing their

attitude and/or behavior?

By having an effective evaluation mechanism, we can determine if our tactics and strategy are working

or not, as well as the extent to which our objectives are being met and that the campaign was money

well spent. Because evaluation is so closely tied up with the rest of our campaign, it is something was

considered throughout e.g. when we first determined our objectives, we needed to think about how

these would be evaluate later on.

As set out above, our campaign has three objectives. In summary, these, together with the evaluation

mechanics are as follows:

a) Broad - Raise awareness of employers about appropriate ways to deal with the cultural

differences of FDWs that may affect their health and well-being.

Specific – A 50% increase in knowledge and awareness about the issues relating to health and

wellbeing of FDWs in Singapore in the first 6 months and a further 50% in the following 6

months.

Target audience – Mainly employers of FDWs, but also Singaporeans generally. We will segment

the audience further by age bands (20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50+). The samples will be selected by

randomized control according to the segmentation outlined above.

Measurement - We will use Survey Monkey, or something similar to conduct surveys before,

during and after the campaign. We will analyze the results and draw our conclusions. These will

be shared with stakeholders and partners as appropriate. The survey will be short.

Example Questions – Do you believe that FDWs are generally well looked after by their

employers? Did you know that you are required by law to give them days off?

Rationale – We have a low budget and online surveys are a cheap and effective way to collect

data. The results will be anonymous and there will be no opportunity for an interviewer to lead

the interviewee, or otherwise introduce bias into the survey.

b) Broad - Change the attitude of Singaporeans towards FDWs and recognize the contribution that

they make.

Specific – A 50% change in employer attitude in 12 months.

Target Audience – As above i.e. mainly employers of FDWs, but also Singaporeans generally. We

will segment the audience further by age bands (20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50+). The samples will be

selected by randomized control according to the segmentation outlined above.

Measurement- As above, we will use Survey Monkey, or something similar to conduct surveys

before, during and after the campaign. We will analyze the results and draw our conclusions.

These will be shared with stakeholders and partners as appropriate. The survey will be short.

Example Question - Do you believe that FDWs make a valuable contribution to the Singapore

economy?

Rationale – We have a low budget and online surveys are a cheap and effective way to collect

data. The results will be anonymous and there will be no opportunity for an interviewer to lead

the interviewee, or otherwise introduce bias into the survey.

c) Broad - Change negative behavior by employers that is impacting the health and well-being of

the FDWs.

Specific – a 50% reduction in negative behavior by employers of FDWs, towards their workers.

Target Audience – FDWs

Measurement – As again, we will use Survey Monkey for this purpose. The samples will be

selected by randomized control according to the segmentation outlined above.

Example Question – Does your employer let you have regular days off as required by law?

Rationale – We have a low budget and online surveys are a cheap and effective way to collect

data. The results will be anonymous and there will be no opportunity for an interviewer to lead

the interviewee, or otherwise introduce bias into the survey.

Finally, we will examine the levels membership of specific Social Media groups (HOME, FAST etc.) and

interest on our partner sites to determine the levels of interest in our campaign. The exact details of

these have yet to be finalized. We will also try to get Lexalytics, or a similar company to sponsor us and

provide us with access to their semantic tools that will allow us to measure sentiment in relation the

Singapore and FDWs in particular. We would aim to have a 100% increase in positive stories / posts etc.

and a 50% decrease in negative reports after 12 months.

In summary therefore, our evaluation mechanism as spelled out comprehensively above, contains

everything we need to evaluate the success, or otherwise of our campaign enabling us to refine and

adjust it as we go along. At the end of the day, the outcomes will be crystal clear.

Campaign Summary

In summary therefore, what you have here, is is a PR campaign whose broad aim is to help FDWs in

Singapore particularly in relation to their health as well as their physical and mental well-being.

I did the research, analysed the situation and arrived at the goal and objectives, whilst all the time

remaining cognizant of the evaluation that would be required to measure the success of the campaign

against the SMART objectives.

I then set out our strategy and tactics fully embracing new media in the context of the high takeup of

Social Media in Singapore, all the while taking the very small budget into account.

In conclusion therefore, there is no reason to believe that this PR campaign will be anything but a

success if the above “recipe” is followed.