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Policy brief 2018, no. 3: Require standard employment contracts
In the third of our policy briefs for 2018, Transient Workers Count Too recommends that it should be mandatory for work permit holders to first sign a Standard Employment Contract (SEC) even before a work permit application is made. The SEC should set out all the key employment terms, and
Policy brief 2018, no. 2: Require mandatory reporting of injuries to MOM by healthcare providers
In the second of four policy briefs for 2018, Transient Workers Count Too recommends that healthcare providers should have a duty to report to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) when a migrant worker is issued more than three days medical leave or is hospitalised for 24 hours or longer. This
89% of salary disputes arise from cash-payment employers, confirms MOM
In a parliamentary reply to a question by MP Melvin Yong, Manpower minister Josephine Teo said in July 2018 that only 11% of work permit holders lodging salary claims were paid electronically. (Scroll down for full reply). This factoid supports TWC2's urging that electronic payment of salaries should be made
Bangladeshi workers’ perception of Singapore, choice of Singapore as work destination and journey here
Intern Roy Lim was with TWC2 from late April to early June 2018. Among his tasks were to complete a research project, a smallish one in view of the limited time and that fact that it had to be done single-handedly. The attached paper is his report. In his paper,
On emotional health
By Debbie Fordyce In trying to help injured and out-of-work migrant workers, we at TWC2 find ourselves dealing with a multitude of issues piling onto the same man at the same time. Some of them, such as injuries, are easier to see than others. Others, such as non-payment of salaries,
Policy brief 2018, no. 1: Electronic payment of salary should be mandatory
In the first for four policy briefs for 2018, Transient Workers Count Too sets out the case for electronic payment of salaries for Work Permit holders. The paper points out that "Electronic payment of salaries through bank transfer provides a 'paper trail' to demonstrate compliance with payment requirements and reduce
How our volunteers put injured workers on the road to recovery
By Cheong Kwok Wy Enshrined in the constitution of the World Health Organisation, the notion of basic healthcare is widely regarded as a fundamental right for every human being. By and large, Singapore does provide that right to every transient worker that comes here, such as through mandatory health insurance.
Foreign workforce numbers, 2017
The number of Work Permit holders in the construction sector declined by nearly 10% between end-2016 and end-2017, latest figures on foreign workforce numbers show. There were 284,900 construction Work Permit holders end-2017 compared to 315,500 of them end-2016. It's a reduction of over 30,000. This mirrors the 8.4% contraction
MOM says Singapore’s workplace injury reporting criteria are “aligned to international practices”
Member of Parliament Louis Ng put in an oral question for oral answer on 19 February 2018, on the topic of injury reporting. Sam Tan, the Minister of State for Manpower replied on behalf of the minister. Nominated Member of Parliament K Thanaletchimi also contributed a supplementary question during the
Do MOM’s injury statistics hide more than they reveal?
A TWC2 research volunteer recently unearthed some interesting statistics regarding workplace injuries in the construction industry. Compared to other industrialised nations, the ratio of construction injury to overall injury rate and the ratio of construction injuries to fatalities is relatively low in Singapore. In the construction sector, the ratio of injuries to fatalities was