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Workers will bear over $5 billion of costs for injuries sustained in 2011
Preliminary findings from a study of workplace injuries and ill-health in 2011 reveal that slightly more than half of total costs fall on workers themselves, when quantified into dollar terms. Since low-wage foreign workers tend to be the ones doing the dangerous jobs, they suffer injuries and ill-health disproportionately. Now
Big cut in Filipina maids September 2
A moratorium has been declared on sending Filipina domestic helpers to Singapore starting 2 September 2013. This news was carried by Channel NewsAsia (CNA) and the Straits Times (23 July 2013). CNA said 150 maid agencies in the Philippines, members of a trade association, want employers in Singapore to bear
Don’t dictate sick leave, employers told
The Ministry of Manpower sent out an email reminder to 28,000 workplace safety and health officers telling them "not to influence doctors to give injured workers less sick leave than they need," reported the Sunday Times on 21 July 2013. According to the newspaper, this email was dated 11 July,
25 foreigners jailed for submitting false academic qualifications
Twenty-five foreigners pleaded guilty to "submitting forged academic certificates to the Controller of Work Passes in order to obtain work passes" on Tuesday, 16 July 2013, reported Channel NewsAsia. (Link) The 20 males and five females are aged between 19 and 48 years old. Twenty-one are from Myanmar, three from
Doctors told to give injured workers enough leave
The story made it to the front page. When TWC2 received a copy from Healthserve of a circular letter issued jointly by the Ministries of Health and Manpower to all registered medical practitioners, we knew it would be something the Straits Times might be interested in. We contacted the newspaper
Five companies fined for salary delay and poor housing of workers
Five companies were convicted for a variety of offences involving mistreatment of their foreign employees, reported Channel NewsAsia on 30 May 2013. (Link). They were named as: Soon Aik Marine Engineering Pte Ltd, Soon Aik Offshore Pte Ltd, Soon Aik Shipbuilding Pte Ltd, Yong Soon Shipbuilding Pte Ltd, and Yong
2 illegal workers caught, 3 more under investigation
A report in Today, 24 May 2013, provided a glimpse into and some figures relating to raids conducted in Little India to ferret out illegal workers. In "Two foreigners arrested for suspected illegal employment", the newspaper reported that officers from the Ministry of Manpower checked twelve shops along Kinta Road, Race
Slow start to male domestic workers
The Sunday Times featured a newly-hired male domestic worker from Myanmar on its 12 May 2013 edition. 31-year-old Lum Hkawng comes from Kachin state in northern Myanmar. The former steel welder, who speaks Mandarin, is working for a partially-handicapped man in his 50s who was injured in a traffic accident.
Company fined $8,000 for late salary payments
The newspaper Today reported on 26 April 2013 that construction company Zhong Jiang (Singapore) International was fined $8,000 for failing to pay salaries on time to ten workers, between last October and December. The salaries that were paid late came up to more than S$44,400, and were for the months of September to November.
A year and a half since the accident, Mahadi still stuck in Singapore
Volunteer Christine Pelly flipped Mahadi's dinner card over and noticed that the date of accident recorded on it was more than one year ago. She directed the young man to your writer, who this evening was interested in the stories of those with prolonged cases. Visibly, there was no obvious