Better enforcement needed in helping injured foreign workers
The subject of paying for medical treatment needed by foreign workers came up in a letter by a Jeffrey Law published by the Straits Times in its online edition on March 14, 2012. Below it is the reply by the Ministry of Manpower, followed by a letter by Debbie Fordyce, a member of TWC2′s executive...
Indranee Rajah takes Manpower ministry to task — comment
At last, somebody within the ruling party has noticed a problem that Transient Workers Count Too have known about for years, and tried to bring to the Manpower ministry’s attention repeatedly: there are plenty of injured workers in Singapore heartlessly abandoned by the system. Indranee Rajah, the People’s Action Party member of parliament for Tanjong...
TWC2's stand on trafficking in persons
Prepared by John Gee for TWC2 Trafficking in persons means the moving people to a place other than their home area through coercion or deception for the purpose of exploitation. It has three elements: Actions: Recruitment, transportation or receipt of human beings; Means: The threat or use of force, other forms of coercion, or deception;...
Website reveals unreasonable expectations of maid employers
The Straits Times published an article reporting a complaint against a website (Employing a maid in Singapore) that carries employers’ allegations against domestic workers, along with their details. Former TWC2 president, John Gee, wrote to the paper and the letter was published on December 3, 2011, with notable cuts that change the letter’s tone. This...
Four week prison sentence an inadequate penalty — Russell Heng
In response to Straits Times’ editorial following remarks by Justice V K Rajah dismissing the appeal of Lee Chiang Theng who had mistreated over 600 migrant workers, TWC2 president Russell Heng sent this letter to the newspaper editors on November 30, 2011: — Dear Straits Times, I welcome your editorial remarks on abusive employers of...
Many workers ‘missing’ because repatriation agents sent after them
Letter to the Editor, Straits Times November 21, 2011 The article “Wanted Posters for Missing Foreign Workers” mentions workers who disappear just before the expiry of their work permit, suggesting that they would prefer to remain in Singapore to work illegally. It’s too simplistic to assume that every report of a missing worker means a...
Where we stand on fair treatment of foreign domestic workers
Questions and common defences for existing treatment of foreign domestic workers by their employers and TWC2′s responses: 1. Don’t most domestic workers agree to the conditions they work under? If a woman has signed a contract with the employer that says that she agrees to have no time off for two years, how can anyone...
Rare instances of domestic workers getting pregnant is no reason to deny them a day off – John Gee
John Gee responded to a letter in the October 4, 2011 edition of the Straits Times: Dear ST, Madam Chua Lai Keow certainly had a bad experience with her domestic worker who became pregnant, but this should not be seen as a reason for denying domestic workers days off when they can go out. Many...
Good to see action being taken against non-payment of salaries — John Gee
This is the unedited version of a letter sent to the editor of Straits Times Forum on September 30, 2011, in relation to an article that appeared in the paper the same day (see summary): Dear ST, It is good to see that action is being taken against employers who fail to pay workers’ salaries...
Exploitation of migrant workers does not serve Singapore’s best interests
Here are five reasons why the exploitation of low-wage migrant workers hurts Singaporeans’ interests. Wages are depressed When employers get away with paying extremely low wages, or worse, promising low wages, but in actual fact paying even less than that through all sorts of illegal deductions, there is a general lowering of wage levels for...
