Articles > Facts, Research, Analysis
Memorandum on required training for construction sector workers
By John Gee In 2011, when looking into the costs Bangladeshis face in coming to work in Singapore’s construction industry, one of the expenses about which the research team asked workers was that of training. They quickly discovered that, though the workers had to pay significant amounts to training centres to gain skills
“In Bangladesh, we don’t live like this”
"Don't tell people address," says Kamal (not his real name). "I promise I won't," your writer assures him, honoured to be trusted enough by him and his room-mates to be shown the hovel where they live. We both know that this is illegal accommodation for foreign workers. But when workers
TWC2 calls for comprehensive bill on labour trafficking
TWC2 calls for practices of labour trafficking suffered by low wage migrant workers in all sectors of employment and foreign fishermen who dock in Singapore or on transit in the country to be addressed in the “Prevention of Human Trafficking Bill”. In a 17-page document submitted via email on 18
Half of construction workers deployed outside their skill areas
The report Training centres in Bangladesh have become money-minting machines (published September 2013) was based on research done in Dhaka. Drawing from anecdotal information, we asserted in the paper that "Most workers report that their Singapore jobs are unrelated to the skills they trained for." This anecdotal information was from workers
At the Cuff Road Project, injury cases more than doubled 2013 over 2011
The number of injury cases seen at the Cuff Road Project more than doubled between 2011 and 2013, latest figures show. In 2011, our volunteers saw 807 injured workers; it shot up to 1,523 cases in 2012, and rose some more in 2013, to 1,791. However, the total numbers seen
Cuff Road Project 2013: Statistics
The Cuff Road Food Programme is Transient Workers Count Too’s signature project. It provides free meals to migrant workers six days a week when they are injured or otherwise out of work and destitute. It also offers an important contact point between the organisation and those in need of help.
Our accounts reflect our frugality
In 2013, over 90 percent of TWC2's spending went towards charitable activities, benefitting our clients in a relatively direct way. We spend little on overheads, reflecting a philosophy of frugality we are proud of. Total expenditure in the year was $481,139, leaving us with a surplus of $254,755 from the
Malaysians form the largest group of work permit holders by nationality
In yet another example of the Ministry of Manpower releasing data in dribs and drabs, Kevin Teoh, the divisional director of MOM's Foreign Manpower Management Division told the Committee of Inquiry looking into the Little India riots: Mr Teoh also clarified that of the 1.1 million foreign non-domestic workers in Singapore, about
High Court overrules MOM Labour Court on overtime pay
In a noteworthy decision, the High Court ruled that the Ministry of Manpower's Assistant Commissioner for Labour misapprehended the law, applying it wrongly. The latter (also known informally as the Labour Court) had ruled in favour of the employer VGP Corp Ltd. But the High Court, in a written decision
Injured workers inside and outside WICA: processes, problems and solutions
This downloadable document is a consolidation of the various recommendations that Transient Workers Count Too has made to the Ministry of Manpower in the last few months and years, with respect to injured workers. Injured worker issues are quite distinct from the salary non-payment issues. For the latter, the recommendations