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Foreign workers help the blind find their way to a bus stop
An undated posting in Facebook tells of a heartwarming encounter with Bangladeshi worker who was spending his lunch break helping a visually-impaired Singaporean get from the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped to a bus stop. The writer says there were others doing the same. The story, posted by someone
Tan Chuan-jin defends employer-provided medical insurance for foreign workers
In Parliament on Monday, 8 July 2012, Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-jin defended the current policy of requiring employers to provide medical insurance, so that such costs do not burden the local taxpayer. Otherwise, he said, "that would be unfair to society at large". "[T]he government has to
Workers should be ferried in buses, not lorries
Following a serious road accident on 3 July 2012 in which one Indian worker was killed, former TWC2 president John Gee wrote a letter to The New Paper. It is reproduced below as published on 9 July 2012: --- Enclosed vehicles safer for workers The New Paper’s coverage of the accident
Teenage worker from India dies in traffic crash
A 19-year-old worker from India was killed and 18 others injured after the lorry they were in was involved in a head-on collision with another lorry on Tuesday, 3 July 2012, reported the Straits Times. He had been working in Singapore for only five months. Mr Kathiravan and three others
10 percent of Work Permit holders pay income tax
A Ministry of Finance official wrote to the Forum pages of the Straits Times to say that about ten percent of Work Permit holders pad income tax in 2011. The short letter is given here in full: Work permit holders, such as domestic helpers, are generally semi-skilled or unskilled ('Provide
Proposals for the amendment of Regulations issued under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act
The EFMA governs the employment of foreign staff in Singapore. The great majority of non-Singaporean employees are low-salaried migrant workers.Out of over one million non-Singaporeans employed in the country in 2011, 870,000 are low paid workers considered to be semi-skilled who are present on work permits. Perhaps another 100,000 are
Proposals for the amendment of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA)
The EFMA governs the employment of foreign personnel in Singapore. The great majority of non-Singaporean employees are low-salaried migrant workers. TWC2 brought together a legal team to work on proposals for the amendment of EFMA and the regulations issued under it – specifically, the different types of work pass. TWC2
Eighth domestic worker so far this year dies from fall
Falling from heights has claimed the life of an eighth domestic worker this year. An Indonesian maid fell to her death from the ninth floor of a Woodlands flat on Thursday (26 April 2012) at about 6:20 pm, reported the Straits Times (28 April 2012, Yet another maid falls to
Minister of state Halimah exhorts employers not to insist on cleaning windows
Minister of state for community development, youth and sports, Halimah Yacob, called on employers not to insist that domestic workers clean the outside of windows. She was responding to reporters' questions about the seven maids who had fallen to their deaths so far this year while cleaning windows or hanging
Settling-in programme for domestic workers to start on May 1, 2012
The new Settling-in-Programme (SIP) for first-time domestic workers will kick in from May 1, reported the Straits Times on April 14, 2012. The compulsory programme replaces a controversial entry test which many first-time maids find hard to pass because of their weak command of the English language. The workers must attend