All items filed under News
“I hope to see my family”, says dying father
The New Paper carried, on Saturday, 29 September 2012, the story of the emergency airlift home for Amin Late Abu Taher that took place two days earlier. This story is now archived on the AsiaOne site. Link. ----- "I hope to see my family" The New Paper, 29 September 2012,
Parliament approves amendments to EFMA
Parliament passed amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) on 11 September 2012. There is no indication from press reports of any further changes to the bill first read at the beginning of August. See TWC2's Our Stand Statement on the amendments. As reported by the Straits Times,
“Fewer than 60 cases per year” not insured; 14 Wica prosecutions over 5 years
The Ministry of Manpower says only one percent of work injury claimants find themselves facing employers who did not have work injury insurance. Straits Times, Thurs, 30 Aug 2012. It also concedes that the vast majority of cases in which employers did not have work injury insurance were not prosecuted.
‘All investigations are conducted expeditiously’, says MOM, but no answer to question on average time taken to close a case
Straits Times reader Alex Tang, in a letter published by the newspaper in its print Forum (16 August 2012) asked a number of questions about workers placed on Special Passes because of "cheating" by employers. Queries on special-pass foreigners There are many foreigners who are holding special passes because they
Mind the gap between principle and practice, Sunday Times gently chides MOM
In carefully couched language, the Sunday Times told the government that it's all very well to enhance penalties and add new offences to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, but unless there is enforcement, what difference will it make? Passing it will be the easy part. But the gap between
Protect vulnerable workers against abuse, says Straits Times in its leader
The Straits Times' editorial of Saturday 18 August 2012 spoke up for the amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Noting that when employers get away with circumventing the rules and thus pay less than the true cost of hiring foreign workers, it is "at the expense of Singaporean
On the proposed amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (August 2012)
Amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) were tabled before Parliament on Monday, 13 August 2012 by Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-jin. It is likely that debate and passage will take place about a month later. Transient Workers Count Too welcomes most of the proposed amendments; they represent
Sunday Times highlights TWC2’s research ‘Worse off for working?’
A full-page feature in the Sunday Times, 12 August 2012, on the plight of foreign workers was timed to precede the first reading of amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act in Parliament the Monday after. Much of the feature revolved around a study conducted by Transient Workers Count
Robbers sentenced to jail and caning for attacking foreign workers
Cook Al-Azhar Mohamed Yusoff, 20, and bartender Sayed Muhammad Nassier Sayed Mohd Sidek, 21, were sentenced to seven and eight-and-a-half years' jail respectively for robbing and severely assaulting two foreign workers. Nassier had a longer jail term because of drug-taking. Both were also given 24 strokes of the cane. The
TWC2’s cranial reconstruction case featured in The New Paper
The New Paper carried a double-page spread on three cases of workers needing cranioplasty. The main story was about Majibar Hakim whose employer "would not pay for the surgery" said the article, though the reporter added that this could not be verified with the employer directly. It also noted that