Singapore  - Singapore is setting up a migrant workers centre to help foreign workers who are in disputes with their employers and are at times left stranded without wages, food and shelter, a news report said Saturday.

The centre, to be opened by April, is to be guided by the Migrant Worker Forum, an enterprise of the state-backed National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation.

"The forum will take an active role in providing humanitarian assistance so that workers are not left stranded with no food or shelter," the Straits Times quoted senior parliamentary secretary for manpower, Hawazi Daipi, as saying.

Singapore employs 757,000 foreign workers in labour-intensive sectors, including construction and services, but an increasing number of cases have surfaced, especially in the current economic crisis, of workers left without work, food, shelter and proper health care.

The government has acknowledged the importance of foreign workers in continuing to keep the city-state competitive in the region. (dpa)