All Articles
Labour crunch during pandemic reveals hopeful possibilities for recruitment cost
When the construction industry faced a severe manpower shortage due to Covid-19 border closures, a funny thing happened to recruitment costs. Knowing the phenomenon would be ephemeral, a snapshot study was conducted.
Rana takes Law Society to court
What began as a personal injury case evolved into a complaint of unprofessional conduct against a lawyer, and when that complaint was handled badly, into a law suit against the Law Society.
Arranging bail
When a migrant worker is arrested by the police, put into remand and charged with a serious offence, what are the immediate issues that he is faced with? We recount one worker's experience.
How Singapore abets forced labour
Six worker cases illustrate how Singapore's work permit system constrains the freedom of workers to refuse a job, putting them at risk of having to serve an employer against their will.
“They are blackmailing me,” says Shariful. “They want to reduce my salary.”
Singapore allows employers to act in bad faith while pretending to have rules that allow retention of skills and experience.
From $20,000 to $510
For his first job in Singapore, Hossain Imran had to fork out $20,000. For his latest job, he dealt directly with his prospective employer. His experience tells us what recruitment reform should look like.
Flung from one holding cell to another
No clear answer could be obtained whether a worker was eligible to work in Singapore again. MOM said Yes, but ICA quietly marked him as a No. What then happened?
Shakib and Taher look for jobs
Two men had to look for new jobs. One was in Bangladesh and the other was in Singapore. Different outcomes.
The long lockdown, part 6: Stopping distance
On 24 June 2022, MOM retired the Exit Pass system and workers could go out freely. And still workers were calling TWC2 saying they were confined. What does this say about policy effectiveness?
The long lockdown, part 5: Hear the silence
Months into 2022, Special Pass holders remained stuck in dorms even as more and more Work Permit holders were allowed to go out. What about getting the press to highlight this injustice?