All items filed under News
MOM launches pilot scheme to allow 400 Cambodian domestic helpers
The Ministry of Manpower is launching a pilot scheme to allow four hundred Cambodian domestic workers in. It has invited employment agents to apply to join the scheme. The Straits Times reported that six agencies will be selected. (See Straits Times, 2 Feb 2013, Your next maid could be from...
1,062 employers fined or warned in 2012 over poor housing
Channel NewsAsia (reported) on 28 January 2013 that seven employers were convicted for failure to give foreign workers acceptable housing in 2012. In total, 1,062 employers were warned or fined in 2012 for providing foreign workers with poor accommodation, the news report said. Since only seven were "convicted", it appears
Statement on alleged police brutality
Transient Workers Count Too joined with several other civil society groups and actors to issue a statement on allegations of police brutality made by two former SMRT bus drivers who are now facing charges for their alleged role in the "strike" of 26 and 27 November 2012. The statement: ---
Government collected S$2.5b in foreign worker levies in 2011
For the first time as far as anyone in TWC2 can remember, the government has revealed how much it collects each year in foreign worker levies. Every employer who hires a foreign worker in Singapore has to pay a monthly levy based on a prevailing scale of charges. To a
Fees for application, issuance and renewal of work passes to increase on 1 April 2013
Administrative fees for work passes will be increased on 1 April 2013, announced the Ministry of Manpower on 10 January 2013. Below is the annex to the ministry's announcement providing a table of charges before and after: While employers of Work Permit holders are supposed to bear administrative fees for
TWC2 makes submissions to MOM on amendments to Employment Act
The Ministry of Manpower invited public responses to a consultation paper re amendments to the Employment Act. The closing date was 11 January 2013. Transient Workers Count Too submitted a list of proposals. Click here to see our letter in pdf format. Our letter touches on several points important to
Two workers, broke and in debt, speak to Today in video
In this video, Today newspaper interviewed two Bangladeshi workers suffering because they are receiving no income, when they have borrowed money to come here. Below is a transcription of what's said in the video that was uploaded onto Youtube on 4 January 2013. The accent can be quite thick and
Jolovan Wham writes open letter to Manpower minister
Jolovan Wham (right), writing in his personal capacity, sent an open letter to Tan Chuan-Jin, acting minister for Manpower on 7 January 2013. The opening paragraph references a defamation suit that the minister is threatening Vincent Wijeysingha of the Singapore Democratic Party with, over a previous Facebook post by the
Low pay may deter foreign workers
"Singapore will find it difficult to recruit foreign construction workers even from newer markets like Sri Lanka and the Philippines if it does not match salaries that employers elsewhere are offering," reported the Straits Times on 3 Jan 2013. The newspaper was aggregating the reactions of agents, employers and migrant
Construction worker falls 27 floors to his death
A brief report in Today mentions a Christmas Day fatal fall of a 32-year-old construction worker at a Sengkang West Way worksite. The newspaper, citing the Ministry of Manpower, said the Chinese national was plastering a wall on the roof of the building when he fell through an opening. He