Tray Lesson

SINGAPORE government keep urging its people to generate better productivity if they are about to rid of foreign worker's present here. Among others, schooling its people to exercise returning tray after they finish their meal on hawker center. As Singaporean are not cooking at home, it become norm for them to go foodcourt for their meals. This daily trend make hawker center become their kitchens. To better serve, the vendors have to employ foreign workers to collect dirty trays, return to washing bay, make sure table are clean by wiping any possible dirty left by patrons. Despite the authority keep encouraging people to return their own tray, people seem not bother with the suggestion. 

Instead, some feed back through voice section of the paper, saying if they do so, those people who works in hawker center become jobless. Sound like excuses, isn't it? Some argue with this saying alternative. Another one said, let user clean the table themselves and occupy the place. The tray manager will stand by to make sure process go smooth. If somebody refuse, he may ask tray manager but have to pay $2.00 for the service. When he left the place, next user will clean for the same table. The trend will cycle by this way. Another suggest, no no, it is not the way to treat public. Put the empty trolley on the passage so that customer can put their dirty tray easily. Also no working despite the authority follow it. For this minor thing alone, they are unable to find solution. In fact, they hawker centers will easily become mess if foreign workers are not placed there. No wonder, some taxi drivers I talk to said you do not think of other things. Just try to imagine what if there is no workers in the food court. I agree with him. Singaporean keep complaining with the present of foreign workers, but the question is that if they can perform the job that are occupied by those workers. 

For me, as a foreign worker, I always try to return my tray whenever I enjoy the food at hawker center. It may not affect the whole system, but for that particular tray, the worker would not need to take any effort. Thanks Singaporean for keeping complain because it make us think of wider perspective. I don't think the government will find a proper solution to solve out this problem near future as long as their people do not change their mindset.