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Bangladeshi cleaner electrocuted while washing floor
The Straits Times reported, 1 December 2016, a coroner's finding that Kabir Mohammad Faysal, 29, had been electrocuted while using a water jet to clean the floor at a housing estate. The motor of the jet had not been grounded and he was barefoot as he did his job. The Straits
Boss fined for raking in $93,000 in renewal fees
The Straits Times reported that Ng Boon Cheng, managing director of Lian Lee Wooden Case Maker Co (above, in ST pic), was fined $60,000 on 22 November 2016 for collecting kickbacks from his foreign workers. The story came out in the newspaper's 23 November online edition. The newspaper reported that:
Foreign workers hit badly by zika and dengue: better housing needed
One of the most striking facts coming out of the currently ongoing zika virus outbreak in Singapore is that the initial cases seemed to have been concentrated at one construction site in the Sims Drive area. Of the first 41 confirmed cases, 36 were workers at the Sims Oasis project
Kuwait allows foreign workers to change employers without employer’s consent after 3 years of work
In a significant law change, Kuwait now permits a foreign worker to switch employer, without the previous employer's consent, if the worker has worked three years. According to a Kuwait Times's story dated 6 June 2016, decree 378/2016 "amended article 6 of decree 842/2015 regarding transferring workers from one employer
Illegal employer dumps dying worker in back alley
The Straits Times reported from court that Muhammad Hidayat Abdul Rahman, 41, was sentenced to six months in jail for dumping Myo Min Aung, 28, in a back alley, after the latter fell from a height of 11.7m. Myo and another Burmese national Min Aung Myat Min were working illegally for Hidayat.
Stop work orders for safety violation: Ensure workers don’t end up paying the price
On 13 May 2016, a report in the Straits Times said that "Companies found lacking in workplace safety and health standards will now face stiffer penalties, including a longer minimum period in which they have to stop work." "Stop-work orders will now last at least three weeks, up from two
Forced repatriation still taking place
Below are two screenshots of Facebook postings (7 April 2016) by Jolovan Wham, executive director of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME). What they clearly show is that the practice of forcibly repatriating migrant workers, sometimes without even paying them their salary, continues to this day. His reference to "walking
PAP member of parliament characterises gatherings of foreign workers as ‘walking time-bombs’
Denise Phua, member of parliament (People's Action Party, Jalan Besar) became alarmist when speaking in the chamber during the Committee of Supply debate, 6 April 2016. As reported in the Straits Times (7 April edition): This generated much adverse comment on social media. There was quick commentary in The Mothership
Letter to Straits Times: Tweak policies to better help injured foreign workers
In a letter published in the Straits Times 31 March 2016, lawyer Dipa Swminathan (pic at right) put her finger on a process weakness that denies many injured workers of fair outcomes. The case she mentions is not an isolated case. TWC2 quite frequently sees cases that resemble what she
Crime among foreign workers is lower than in general population, Home Affairs minister tells parliament
Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam told Parliament on March 2016 that foreign workers commit fewer crimes per capita than the resident Singapore population. Crime incidents within the foreign worker population are lower than that among the general Singapore population, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam told Parliament on Monday