All items filed under News
Media statement on rioting in Little India
For immediate release 9 December 2013 TWC2 is saddened and disturbed by the rioting in Little India last night. We do not condone senseless acts of violence and would like to see those responsible apprehended and put to justice. We are also concerned about the vitriol and xenophobia online against
Riot in Little India after bus knocks down pedestrian
Ambulance set ablaze. Photo: Straits Times A small riot broke out in Little India on Sunday night, 8 December 2013. The junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road (just north of Little India MRT Station) is usually teeming with South Asian migrant workers Sunday nights. The area
Who said what to the doctor?
About one in three injured workers, when brought to medical attention after an accident, find that it is the boss or company representative who tells the doctor what caused the injury. The worker doesn't get a chance to speak. Yet, it is rare that the boss or company representative witnessed
Sri Lankan and Filipino construction workers coming soon
The Straits Times reported, 22 August 2013, that Singapore is looking to Sri Lanka and the Philippines as regular sources of construction workers. "The first 20 Sri Lankan construction workers who were trained at a Building and Construction Authority (BCA) approved training centre in Colombo will arrive in Singapore next
Do workers exaggerate their injuries? Part 1
An article in the Straits Times, 9 November 2013, on workers' injuries and medical leave prompted a small flurry of letters to the newspaper's Forum page. The initial article, headlined 'Hospitals give too much sick leave for injuries: Bosses' reported that Bosses are crying foul that foreign workers are getting
Do workers exaggerate their injuries? Part 2
The scab on one of Das Thiru's knees about three weeks after the accident Continued from PART 'The employers believe these workers exaggerate their injuries to fool doctors' – so reported the Straits Times on 9 November 2013 (‘Hospitals give too much sick leave for injuries: Bosses’ by
Plug gaps in system to reduce illegal work
Transient Workers Count Too's letter in response to an article about foreign workers working illegally (Straits Times, Monday, 25 Nov 2013, summarised here) was published in the newspaper's letters section on Friday 29 November. This is the text of the letter: Plug gaps in system to reduce illegal work When
Straits Times blows whistle on injured workers working illegally
The lead story in the Home Section of the Straits Times last Monday looked into foreign workers working illegally. ('Workers find illegal jobs through informal network', 25 Nov 2013). It was accompanied by a photograph that Transient Workers Count Too considers somewhat irresponsible. Only the lower half of the photograph
Menton Technologies’ failure to pay salaries in the news
The Online Citizen carried a lengthy report, 22 Nov 2013, on the case of about 100 Bangladeshi employees of Menton Technologies who are owed salaries and overtime by their employer. See http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2013/11/a-raw-deal/. The report pointed out that the company had been in the news before over a similar issue -- not
Business Times and Today report on TWC2’s payslips stand
Transient Workers Count Too's recent media statement was carried by the Business Times and Today. The Business Times ('TWC2 unhappy with govt decision to defer payslips', 20 Nov 2013) highlighted The non-profit group also wants the Manpower Ministry (MOM) to "at least institute it as a condition" required of employers