All items filed under News
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
Asean consensus on migrant labour: gaps between reality and Singapore’s commitments
In November 2017, Asean heads of government signed an 'Asean Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers'. The terms of the document were not binding, and every article within was made subject to national laws. Despite such inauspicious beginnings, Transient Workers Count Too has taken
MOM booklet sweeps forward, then stumbles
Arriving in our mailbox earlier this week was a new booklet published by the Ministry of Manpower, titled '6 Simple Steps to comply with Employment Laws'. This is indeed a good initiative; from here on, employers will have fewer excuses not to do things in accordance with the law. The
Rafa and the line between white and black
By Isaac Ong, based on an interview in November 2017 "This is my wrong but I don't want pay [you] money. Even if I go jail, [even if] I no company, but I still don't want pay money", Rafa (not his real name) was told by his boss. 49-year-old Rafa
MOM wrong to accuse us of ‘inaccurate’ and ‘untrue’ account
On 5 December 2017, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) put up a note on their Facebook page accusing TWC2 of publishing an "inaccurate" account. This was in relation to the story we had posted on 12 October 2017 titled "Fraud committed using ministry letterhead". We stand by our story. We
Greedy, unlicenced job brokers: one down, many more to go
TWC2 volunteer discussing the news story with Bangladeshi workers at the Cuff Road Project In a promising development, the Ministry of Manpower has successfully prosecuted a Bangladeshi worker who acted as a job broker and who had pocketed some $30,900 in illicit profit. Roy Tapon Kumar pleaded guilty
After ten years, Asean reaches ‘consensus’ on migrant labour rights
Asean heads of government put signatures to an 'Asean Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers' on 14 November 2017, at their recently concluded summit meeting in Manila. This document was ten years in the making, after Asean members first signalled their intention to arrive
Employer of ‘release’ workers sentenced to jail with caning
For the first time, a company director will be caned for offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Goh Eng Kiat, 33, was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining work passes for 30 foreign workers as construction labour. It was fraudulent because the company, Jasper Contractors, did not require them
Bridging the academic-NGO divide: Making research relevant to migrant workers and their front line supporters.
Nick Harrigan (extreme right) moderating a panel discussion at another event This is a speech given by Nicholas Harrigan, a member of TWC2's research subcommittee, at the 'Health of Migrants and Refugees Workshop' in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 10 November 2017. This workshop was hosted by United Nations University - International
Basic salary stated in IPA is “prima facie” the applicable basic salary, rules the High Court
In a landmark judgment released 1 November 2017, the High Court has ruled that the basic salary stated in the In-Principle Approval for a Work Permit (IPA) "would constitute prima facie evidence" of the correct basic salary rate, unless the employer can prove otherwise. The bar for proving otherwise was