Sociodemographic information of non-domestic migrant workers, HealthServe clinics and foreign worker dormitory, 23 July–28 August 2016*
| Characteristic (number of respondents, n) | Bangladeshi† (N=293) | Indian (N=85) | Chinese (N=52) | All (N=433) | Bangladeshi vs non-Bangladeshi (reference category)† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| p Value | OR (95% CI) | |||||
| Age | ||||||
| Median (IQR) | 30 (26–35) | 30 (26–36) | 45 (41–49) | 31 (27–38) | <0.0001‡ | – |
| Gender | ||||||
| Male, no. (%) | 293 (100) | 84 (99) | 50 (96) | 429 (99) | 0.011§ | – |
| Marital status (n=432) | ||||||
| Married, no. (%) | 170 (58) | 48 (57) | 50 (96) | 269 (62) | 0.008 | 0.56 (0.36 to 0.86) |
| Single, no. (%) | 123 (42) | 36 (43) | 1 (2) | 162 (38) | 0.005 | 1.9 (1.2 to 2.9) |
| Separated, no. (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (2) | 1 (0.2) | 0.32§ | – |
| Number of people supported, median (IQR) (n=431) | 5 (4–7) | 5 (3.5–5) | 4 (2–4.8) | 5 (4–6) | <0.0001‡ | – |
| Number of people supported (n=431) | ||||||
| 3 or less, no. (%) | 54 (19) | 21 (25) | 24 (46) | 100 (23) | 0.001 | 0.47 (0.29 to 0.74) |
| 4 to 6, no. (%) | 159 (55) | 61 (71) | 24 (46) | 246 (57) | 0.11 | 0.73 (0.49 to 1.1) |
| 7 or more, no. (%) | 78 (27) | 3 (4) | 4 (8) | 85 (20) | <0.0001 | 7.0 (3.1 to 16) |
| Work industry (n=431) | ||||||
| Construction, no. (%) | 208 (71) | 61 (72) | 40 (78) | 309 (72) | 0.76 | 0.93 (0.59 to 1.5) |
| Shipyard/marine, no. (%) | 61 (21) | 11 (13) | 1 (2) | 73 (17) | 0.002 | 2.8 (1.5 to 5.4) |
| Maintenance, no. (%) | 14 (5) | 11 (13) | 2 (4) | 28 (7) | 0.038 | 0.45 (0.21 to 0.97) |
| Others¶, no. (%) | 9 (3) | 2 (2) | 8 (16) | 21 (5) | 0.012 | 0.34 (0.14 to 0.82) |
| Currently unemployed, no. (%) (n=433) | 7 (2) | 0 (0) | 4 (8) | 11 (3) | 0.75§ | 0.83 (0.24 to 2.9) |
| Highest education completed (n=433) | ||||||
| Primary or less, no. (%) | 31 (11) | 9 (11) | 9 (17) | 49 (11) | 0.48 | 0.80 (0.43 to 1.5) |
| Secondary, no. (%) | 195 (67) | 33 (39) | 33 (64) | 262 (61) | <0.0001 | 2.2 (1.4 to 3.3) |
| Postsecondary, no. (%) | 67 (23) | 43 (51) | 10 (19) | 122 (28) | <0.0001 | 0.46 (0.30 to 0.71) |
| Basic monthly salary (SG$), median (IQR) (n=420) | 700 (570.5–900) | 800 (600–1000) | 1950 (1600–2000) | 800 (600–1000) | <0.0001‡ | – |
| Average working hours/week, median (IQR) (n=417) | 60 (54–70) | 60 (48–66) | 64 (60–70) | 60 (54–70) | 0.34‡ | – |
| Number of rest days/month, median (IQR) (n=417) | 4 (2–4) | 4 (2–4) | 4 (2–4) | 4 (2–4) | 0.11‡ | – |
| Duration in Singapore (years), median (IQR) (n=429) | 6 (4–9) | 6 (3–9) | 5 (3.3–9) | 6 (4–9) | 0.21‡ | – |
| Type of entry visa (n=429) | ||||||
| Work permit | 279 (96) | 80 (94) | 42 (86) | 403 (94) | 0.041 | 2.3 (1.0 to 5.0) |
| S Pass | 5 (2) | 5 (6) | 5 (10) | 16 (4) | 0.001 | 0.20 (0.07 to 0.59) |
| Special pass | 6 (2) | 0 (0) | 2 (4) | 8 (2) | 1.00§ | 1.4 (0.28 to 7.1) |
| Multiple journey visa | 2 (0.7) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.5) | 1.00§ | – |
| Amount of agent fees paid to come to Singapore, no. (%) (n=421) | ||||||
| None | 29 (10) | 8 (10) | 7 (14) | 45 (11) | 0.68 | 0.87 (0.46 to 1.7) |
| SG$1000 and less | 6 (2) | 4 (5) | 0 (0) | 10 (2) | 0.74§ | 0.73 (0.20 to 2.6) |
| SG$1001–SG$5000 | 123 (44) | 61 (73) | 26 (51) | 211 (50) | <0.001 | 0.44 (0.29 to 0.66) |
| SG$5001–SG$10 000 | 98 (35) | 10 (12) | 13 (26) | 122 (29) | <0.001 | 2.5 (1.5 to 4.2) |
| SG$10 001 and above | 13 (5) | 1 (1) | 5 (10) | 19 (5) | 0.91 | 1.1 (0.39 to 2.9) |
| Unsure | 14 (5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 14 (3) | 0.006§ | – |
| Current amount of agent fee owed, no. (%) (n=421) | ||||||
| None | 232 (82) | 61 (73) | 48 (94) | 344 (82) | 0.84 | 1.1 (0.63 to 1.78) |
| SG$1000 and less | 7 (2.5) | 3 (4) | 1 (2) | 11 (3) | 0.76§ | 0.85 (0.24 to 3.0) |
| SG$1001–SG$5000 | 27 (10) | 10 (12) | 1 (2) | 38 (9) | 0.60 | 1.2 (0.59 to 2.5) |
| SG$5001–SG$10 000 | 9 (3) | 9 (11) | 1 (2) | 19 (5) | 0.059 | 0.42 (0.17 to 1.1) |
| SG$10 001 and above | 1 (0.4) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.5) | 0.55§ | 0.49 (0.03 to 7.8) |
| Unsure | 7 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 7 (2) | 0.10§ | – |
*p Values by Pearson χ2 test except otherwise indicated. Reference population used for p values and OR are non-Bangladeshis.
†Non-Bangladeshi group include Indians (n=85), Chinese (n=52), Malaysian (n=1), Burmese (n=1) and Vietnamese (n=1). The χ2 test/Fisher's exact test was performed comparing Bangladeshis versus non-Bangladeshis (the latter being the reference category).
‡p Values by independent-samples Hodges-Lehmann's median difference.
§p Values by Fisher's exact test.
¶Others include: gardening (n=4), manufacturing (n=3), food and beverages (n=3), ad hoc workers (n=2), other miscellaneous jobs (n=9).
SG$, Singapore dollars.