News > Our Stand
When court orders are worthless: the Zach Engineering case
Longform by Gautam Joseph with contribution by Choo Wai Hong Timeline Dec 2014 Two workers at Zach Engineering summarily dismissed after employer has disagreement with Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Mar – Jun 2015 Two workers rehired by Zach Engineering, three other Bangladeshi workers join. Oct 2015 Fifteen workers paid only
Jaynal lost his case at ECT; was the tribunal’s decision sound?
On 19 October 2017, Abedin Md Jaynal spent virtually the whole day in the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) arguing his case. By the close of the day, it was over, and he had lost. The magistrate dismissed his salary claim. Jaynal told TWC2 that the magistrate was actually sympathetic to
MOM says Singapore’s workplace injury reporting criteria are “aligned to international practices”
Member of Parliament Louis Ng put in an oral question for oral answer on 19 February 2018, on the topic of injury reporting. Sam Tan, the Minister of State for Manpower replied on behalf of the minister. Nominated Member of Parliament K Thanaletchimi also contributed a supplementary question during the
On average, injured workers with TWC2 wait eleven months for compensation
The typical worker who is with TWC2's Cuff Road Project has waited nearly six months since his workplace accident. Yet he is still some distance from the conclusion of his Work Injury Compensation (Wica) claim. Typically, this worker is still in the first of four phases: getting medical treatment or
Exploitative law firms: systemic solutions needed from MOM
In late March 2018, a short while after this article Two injured workers provide detailed accounts of a law firm's practices was published, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) asked for the names of the workers and law firms involved. Transient Workers Count Too declined to provide this information. As the details
TWC2 submits proposals for improving Singapore’s Employment Act
The Singapore government invited submissions for proposed amendments to the Employment Act. TWC2 made a proposal centred on five areas which will benefit the most number of workers. As our submission makes clear, TWC2’s proposed amendments are envisioned to support all employees in Singapore. Even if some of our ideas
Employer sent to jail, worker’s compensation still unpaid. Is this good enough?
Suriakumar Ridgeway Ramaiah, will be serving jailtime for failing to pay injury compensation to a worker. Strictly speaking, the sole proprietor of Ridgeway Marine and Construction, was fined $21,000 on 16 November 2016 for failing to buy work injury insurance for his workers, and for not paying compensation when so ordered, but having
A look back at job mobility policies 2011 – 2017
There has been a gradual liberalisation over the last few years allowing construction workers to transfer to new jobs. This paper takes stock of evolving government policy in this area. Transient Workers Count Too has argued for a long time that retaining workers with experience in Singapore will be good for
Victims of unpaid salaries have hard time getting transfer jobs
One of the more encouraging things that Transient Workers Count Too has noticed in the past few years is that now, nearly all victims of unpaid salary are given a chance by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to look for new jobs in Singapore without first having to return home. The significance
TWC2 president speaks at Singapore UN Association’s UNASMUN
TWC2 was invited to speak at the 2017 United Nations Association of Singapore Model United Nations (UNASMUN) preparatory conference which took place at the Singapore Institute of Management from 19-22 December 2017. At the conference, TWC2 President, Dr Noorashikin Abdul Rahman, presented an overview of the working and living conditions