Announcements and upcoming events:
If you are interested in helping out, our next volunteer orientation session will be on Thursday, 8 June 2023, starting at 7:30pm and will take approximately 60 – 90 minutes. It will be an in-person meeting in the Little India area. At this Heartbeat session, we will describe the different volunteering opportunities available and if you find a fit with your time and interests, you can then sign up as a volunteer (no obligation to do so). If you wish to attend this session, please send an email to info@twc2.org.sg with the header “Interested in Heartbeat, June 2023”. We will get back to you soon with the precise date and location.
Transient Workers Count Too has been made aware of job advertisements for a purported social enterprise named “Transient workers provident fund (TWPF)”. We have no connection with nor knowledge of any such venture.
Featured Articles
Foreign workforce numbers, 2022
Latest figures from the Ministry of Manpower show how the numbers of foreign workers have more than bounced back since Covid-19.
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Is Singapore being scolded by the ILO?
We came across an interesting comment on the website of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It sounded stern even if shrouded in diplomatic language.
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Food left outside dorms while serious thinking left outside minds, part 2
Why is bad food for migrant workers such an intractable issue? Because it is a complex one that requires policy overhaul from the top, but policy overhaul requires an admission that current policy is failing.
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Food left outside dorms while serious thinking left outside minds, part 1
In April 2023, the Straits Times reported on the leaving of food packets beside roadways and in open fields – food meant for migrant workers; we say the catering system will never work.
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In wet clothes all day
TWC2 asks workers what they think about being transported on the back of lorries. And do they think anything will improve?
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Blue-collar recruitment platform ready to fly
A start-up developing a low-cost recruitment platform showed TWC2 their model and asked for our views. We were encouraged by what we saw.
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The mess over rest day pay starts from the top
To a Parliamentary question, the Manpower Minister revealed how little his ministry did over rest day pay violations. He also revealed the stunningly employer-forgiving attitude his ministry adopts even when violations are found.
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Human trafficking: Another case of contract substitution
Mithon's story is one of overcharging and deception, with clear indications of human trafficking. MOM's response is one of helping him get back a little bit of money. That's all.
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When abroad, there’s no place like phone
Mother's Day may be a commercialised Western concept, but everybody has a mother, inclduing the migrant workers here. We speak to them about this key person in their lives.
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Second-generation case management system goes live
We marked another milestone on 1 May 2023 when we inaugurated our second-generation case management application. This helps TWC2 become even more efficient in our work.
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The price of labour migration: dreadful catered meals
Our volunteer spent two months interviewing workers seeking their perspective on the meals they get in the dormitories. Choice is an unknown concept.
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Hang it on the dormitory wall
Asad is propably overqualified to be a work permit holder in Singapore. Why is he even here? He explains his rationale, and yup, it's totally logical.
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Lorryloads of workers driven through a legal loophole
Is it common to underpay workers in construction and related trades for working on their usual days-off? We ran a survey to find out, and were rather taken aback at the results.
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Rest day pay disparity disadvantages low-wage workers
Singapore's Employment Act has a blurry bifurcation re pay entitlement for working on a rest day. It permits employers to exploit workers, especially low-wage ones with little bargaining power.
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The gardener with a nice smile
A TWC2 volunteer came across a worker from India, working as a gardener is a prestigious location. She asked him about his salary. It was not prestigious.
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