By Zhan Nanxin, from an evening in March 2018

Like many other first timers, Sheikh Mohammad Mithun comes to Transient Workers Count Too’s Dayspace in Little India unsure of what to expect, hoping for advice and help. What catches our eye is the large bag of medication in his left hand. That’s quite unusual. He must have come straight from the hospital.

There are several volunteers and staff on duty, but at that moment, board member Alex happens to be free, so Mithun is invited to sit with him. Mithun proceeds to tell Alex how and where he was injured. He has a photo of the X-ray of his broken leg on his phone.

It’s not hard to notice that his left shin is still swollen.

However, before TWC2 can provide any form of assistance, Mithun has to be registered into our database so that the team can understand his situation better.

At the same time, ensuring that he understands what registration entails, Mithun has to read the explanation provided in his own language (Bengali) before we accept consent to recording his personal particulars. TWC2 complies with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

Mithun signs to indicate his informed consent.

We issue Mithun a meal entitlement card for the month of March 2018, a service by TWC2’s Cuff Road Project. It’s a small, handy-sized card when compared with his bagful of prescriptions. He will get the card renewed every month until his case is concluded and he goes home.

Like many others, Mithun came to know about TWC2 through a friend who has been with TWC2 before. Here, Mithun and his friend (left) listen as Alex recapitulates what Mithun has said about his situation, to ensure we’ve fully understand his problem.

Ensuring that workers are aware of their own rights to medical treatment and the different stages of the compensation process, TWC2 has produced short animated videos in their own language. Alex pulls up the appropriate video from Youtube and asks Mithun to spend a few minutes watching it.

 

After watching the video, Mithun has a few further questions. Alex answers them, giving him a clearer picture of what lies ahead. However, TWC2 will not be managing his case as he has engaged a lawyer as his legal representative. To avoid conflict, TWC2 will only give general replies to any worker who has a legal representative. But if a worker does not have a lawyer representing him, TWC2 will be able to get more involved and will monitor case progression more closely.