All Articles
Just as baby arrives, an eye is lost
Rafiqul's doctor says surgery is needed or the eye would be lost. Employer says no and refuses to pay. Rafiqul feels he needs a lawyer. But says lawyer is doing nothing to resolve the problem. Here's another worker immobilised by system and culture.
Akanda eaten by the cancer of circular migration
Just because he felt ill on day at work Akanda was summarily fired. Is he optimistic about finding another job?
New work injury law leaves old gap unaddressed
Long delays by MOM in deciding whether an injury was work-related was a feature of the way the old WICA worked. Will the new WICA be any better? Or worse?
Broken ankle chained to ‘lawyer’
Anwar is eight months into his injury compensation claim. He is desperate for his medical leave wages to help his family. He is bounced between his 'lawyer' and MOM. Who should rightly be taking action?
Cheated of $6,000, Nurunobi is angry
During the job interview, the boss described his company as a large main contractor. Then why did Nurunobi get work on only 9 days out of the first 24?
Overstayers’ median period of evading arrest only two months
Work pass and Special pass holders made up about 40% of overstayers arrested in 2018, with tourists forming an even larger number. But they hadn't managed to evade the authorities for long.
What plagues migrant workers?
Dating from 2014, this featured article is a review of the inequalities inherent in the employer-employee relationship with respect to migrant workers in Singapore. Citing cases Meera Rajah came across while volunteering with TWC2, she shows how these imbalances manifest in workers' lived experiences.
Salary mediation unsuccessful, but Hanif and Nasir may not get their day in court
The kindest route to take in helping men with virtually no hope of recovering unpaid salaries may be to just give them some money and move on. But the argument can be made that this does not serve the public interest. Weigh the pros and cons.
How to extract $5,800 from a worker within 36 hours
Salim arrived in Singapore with an IPA letter saying the job would pay him $950 per month. Within 36 hours, his boss told him the salary would be around $520 a month. Take it or leave it.
Remittance highways and byways
Many low-wage workers from Bangladesh continue to use an informal remittance system to send money back home despite it being an unregulated system. Why do they choose that?