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The challenge of labour trafficking
On 27 August 2014, The Straits Times published an opinion article by John Gee, immediate past president of TWC2, which the paper titled 'Ensuring better protection for migrant workers'. Here, John has revised the article slightly, elaborating on some points at the same time. By John Gee At the end
Straits Times forum: Salary non-payment a big issue for migrant workers
Further to the feature on poor accommodation for foreign workers in the Straits Times 19 August 2014 mentioned earlier in Cost implications of government policies crucial to question fo foreign worker accommodation, TWC2 vice-president Alex Au's letter to the Forum editor was published on Monday 25 August 2014: Salary non-payment
Cost implications of government policies crucial to question of foreign worker accommodation
The Straits Times recently carried a story about foreign worker accommodation. Unfortunately, it didn't get to the heart of the matter: the way government policies affect cost and affordability considerations. The newspaper's 19 August 2014 story spoke about the rising number of vacancies at purpose-built dormitories. There are about 5,000
Woolim, part 4: employer pleads guilty, fined $36,000
Buried within a press release by the Ministry of Manpower dated 19 June 2014, and titled Computer firm director charged for false declaration of salaries, was a paragraph pertaining to the Woolim case that TWC2 highlighted in earlier articles. The paragraph provides a conclusion to the case, saying: More recently
Get to the bottom of unfair maid placement fees
This letter by TWC2 immediate past president John Gee was published in the Straits Times on 14 July 2014: ---- Get to the bottom of unfair maid placement fees The imposition of considerable placement costs on domestic workers by many employment agencies has, regrettably, been a common practice since 1998
Why foreign workers are reluctant to raise pay issues
A letter by Debbie Fordyce of TWC2 was published in the print section of the Straits Times 17 July 2014. It was a follow-on to a letter by Migrant Workers' Centre, which in turn was a response to an article by Radha Basu in the Sunday Times of 6 July.
TWC2’s response to the COI Report on the Little India Riot
Ambulance set ablaze. Photo: Straits Times Media Statement For immediate release, 3 July 2014 TWC2’s response to the COI Report on the Little India Riot TWC2 wishes to make three points in response to the Report on the Little India Riot issued 30 June 2014 by the Committee
Memorandum on required training for construction sector workers
By John Gee In 2011, when looking into the costs Bangladeshis face in coming to work in Singapore’s construction industry, one of the expenses about which the research team asked workers was that of training. They quickly discovered that, though the workers had to pay significant amounts to training centres to gain skills
Civil society statement on racism and xenophobia
We, the undersigned, are alarmed by the recent surge of racism and xenophobia in Singapore. They threaten the human rights of all (especially migrants) and the health of our political conversation. The key to addressing the economic frustrations felt by many Singaporeans is to amend the economic policies and structures
TWC2 calls for comprehensive bill on labour trafficking
TWC2 calls for practices of labour trafficking suffered by low wage migrant workers in all sectors of employment and foreign fishermen who dock in Singapore or on transit in the country to be addressed in the “Prevention of Human Trafficking Bill”. In a 17-page document submitted via email on 18