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Tag: standards

  • Catered Food For Workers Need More Regulation, Urge Researchers

    Catered Food For Workers Need More Regulation, Urge Researchers

    The authors of a study that highlighted the dismal quality of food that Bangladeshi construction workers in Singapore were being fed have called for greater government regulation of such caterers.

    The workers were provided catered food that was “foul-smelling”, “rock solid” and lacking in nutrition as it had been prepared hours in advance. The issue flummoxed many when TODAY reported on the preliminary findings of the study in March. The news report was widely circulated for more than a week and has since prompted two to three food-business owners to volunteer help to rectify the situation.

    In their White Paper summarising findings from a two-year study released today (June 11), researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and non-governmental organisation HealthServe said regulating caterers would be an “important step towards ensuring food safety and security”. “We learnt about the large number of unlicensed operators that operate without accountability. These unlicensed caterers often work thorough middlemen and are unable to control the quality of food,” they wrote.

    At a press conference today, Professor Mohan J Dutta, director of NUS’ Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation, which co-authored the White Paper, added: “Caterers who are not licensed (have) a variety of practices, such as food being left outside the dorm. And often, we hear stories of rats pulling away at the food.”

    Currently, the National Environment Agency requires all caterers to be licensed. Packed food would have to come with time stamps, indicating when it was prepared and by when it has to be consumed.

    Apart from greater oversight of these businesses, HealthServe director Goh Wei Leong said providing cooking facilities in all dormitories could be a solution. Foreign workers may also save costs by pooling money for ingredients.

    The researchers’ findings also showed that foreign workers often liaise with a middleman for meals to be delivered to their dormitories. About a quarter of the average S$120 to S$130 they pay each month for the meals goes to the middleman, leaving the caterers scrimping on quality ingredients, said Prof Dutta, who suggested that employers work directly with caterers. “That’s so that the food is directly catered to a worksite. That could prevent the gap between the cooking and the delivery. Employers will have more ability to control the quality because they’ll be negotiating with the vendor,” added Prof Dutta.

    Today, CARE and HealthServe launched a campaign to raise awareness of the food woes of foreign workers through bus and MRT ads and a TV commercial. A documentary will also be released online later this month. Materials for the campaign came from the interviews, focus-group discussions and surveys with Bangladeshi construction workers conducted between September 2012 and December last year.

    A survey pertaining to the quality and hygiene of food, which involved 500 Bangladeshi migrant workers, showed 86.2 per cent had fallen ill after eating catered food. Common illnesses include vomiting. More than nine in 10 felt their food was unhygienic. Nearly all respondents (97.4 per cent) were dissatisfied with the quality of their food, with some describing it as “bread (that) is so tough, it … feels like eating a tyre”.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Far East Hospitality Chief Executive: Service Standards In Singapore Have Dropped

    Far East Hospitality Chief Executive: Service Standards In Singapore Have Dropped

    Service standards in Singapore have fallen sharply, said Mr Arthur Kiong, chief executive of Far East Hospitality, the largest hospitality chain here, leaving industry players and policymakers worried at a time when the sector is hit hard by a labour crunch and dwindling tourist arrivals.

    Expressing his dismay over the state of affairs, Mr Kiong told TODAY: “Is it that we don’t get it or are business owners not really convinced that service is related to keeping customers and (to) profitability? The disproportionate response to this major issue from business owners is shocking. Many are so financially driven that they refuse to look at the larger picture.”

    Taking no comfort in data showing productivity gains, he added: “Yet overall, our productivity has actually improved. Clearly, that is not real. It is because we can’t find people. There are fewer people doing the same job, so productivity looks to have gone up, but the quality has fallen.”

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said earlier this week at the Singapore Service Excellence Medallion awards that while service standards here have been raised over the past 10 years, there is still much room for improvement.

    “Ask any tourist or even a Singaporean which country has good service, (and) I don’t think Singapore comes immediately to mind. In Singapore, I don’t think our culture and DNA are naturally service-oriented, but we, too, can learn from Hong Kong and other countries and transform our service industry,” he said.

    Mr Kiong said the productivity push is also taking a toll on Singaporean workers. “We are trying to squeeze productivity, but Singaporean workers are feeling the heat as they realise that they have to do much more work at a comparatively lower pay increase. They originally thought their salaries will be better if there were no foreign workers. Now, fresh talent refuse to join the hospitality sector, looking at the hard work,” he said.

    He added that Singapore should stop borrowing from other countries and instead reinvent itself, as he seeks to promote a unique “Singapore Hospitality” defined by three key attributes: Comfort without excess, aesthetics without ostentation, and attention without pretention.

    “There is place and relevance today for this Singapore-inspired hospitality, both in terms of our strategy and the evolving new generation of travellers who are redefining service standards. They want comfort, but do not want to pay more than they should. Also, we need to understand well that they are in Singapore to enjoy the destination and not the hotel. The hotel is a small component, so we should be less arrogant about ourselves.”

    Come July, with a focus on its key markets including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, the United Kingdom and India, Far East Hospitality will launch two year-long campaigns: Heritage Food Trail, which will focus on local food; and Far More Singapore, which will showcase the Singaporean way of life.

    With its portfolio of brands, the hospitality giant is targeting the mid-tier market. “We have different brands catering for different psychographic categories and are the first to do this. Others go by demographic, segregating products by price points,” Mr Kiong said. The psychographic approach targets consumers according to their attitudes and aspirations.

    Far East Hospitality operates nine brands of hotels, serviced residences and apartment hotels, including Adina Apartment Hotels, Medina Serviced Apartments, Marque, Oasia, Quincy, Rendezvous, Travelodge Hotels, Vibe Hotels and Village.

    After Chinese New Year next year, it will launch several new properties in Singapore.

    Far East Hospitality is a 70-30 joint venture between Far East Orchard, a company under Far East Organization, and The Straits Trading Company. It operates a combined portfolio of more than 13,000 rooms across 80 hotels and serviced residences in eight countries — Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, with more in its development pipeline.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com