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1,062 employers fined or warned in 2012 over poor housing
Channel NewsAsia (reported) on 28 January 2013 that seven employers were convicted for failure to give foreign workers acceptable housing in 2012. In total, 1,062 employers were warned or fined in 2012 for providing foreign workers with poor accommodation, the news report said. Since only seven were "convicted", it appears
Government collected S$2.5b in foreign worker levies in 2011
For the first time as far as anyone in TWC2 can remember, the government has revealed how much it collects each year in foreign worker levies. Every employer who hires a foreign worker in Singapore has to pay a monthly levy based on a prevailing scale of charges. To a
‘Troubled waters’ report launched
Researcher Sallie Yea gave a talk on Tuesday, 8 January 2013, launching her preliminary report on human trafficking in the fishing industry. The event was organised by Transient Workers Count Too. To an audience of about 30 persons from embassies, government and media, she spoke about her study of 63
Troubled waters: Trafficking of Filipino men into the long haul fishing industry through Singapore
Research by Sallie Yea With contributions by Shelley Thio from TWC2 December 2012 Abstract The report shows that trafficking characterizes a significant proportion of the experiences of the fishermen on the boats that dock in Singapore’s ports. These fishermen suffer various abuses during the recruitment and deployment process (in the Philippines
“40 to a room” — video of a workers’ dormitory in Singapore
The above video shows an industrial building converted into a dormitory for Chinese, Indian and Bangladeshi workers. Each room houses about 40 men -- there are at least two rooms -- in extremely crammed and poorly ventilated conditions. The video also pans the shower and toilet facilities. It was produced
Manpower ministry receives about 600 complaints a month
In a blogpost to mark International Migrants Day, Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin revealed some statistics: MOM receives some 7,000 telephone enquiries and 2,500 emails per month on employment-related matters from both local and foreign workers. Some 600 statutory employment claims (e.g. non-payment of salary or overtime pay, unauthorised deductions
Mind the gap: no system in place to help workers needing costly medical care
Just this year alone, three workers came to the attention of Transient Workers Count Too with holes in their skulls resulting from workplace accidents (see story here). They needed cranioplasties -- reconstructing the missing part of the skull with synthetic material -- but who would pay for the operation? Their
Manpower minister provides 5-year data for foreign workforce numbers
Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-jin penned a blogpost in the Manpower blog in which he sought to explain to the Singapore public the recent trends in foreign workforce numbers. He said that many businesses have told him that his ministry, by tightening work passes for foreigners, was "unreasonably making
Nabbing immigration offenders affects Special Pass holders too
The drop in the number of immigration offenders was covered recently in the news: 2,077, 1,698, and 1,318 people were arrested for immigration offences in the first half of 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively [endnote 1]. The news story did not reveal whether these numbers included both male and female
Workers on temporary jobs face salary problems too
The general principle is this: When workers lose their jobs because their employer breached a rule or two and thus caused the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to revoke the work permits the employer had previously obtained, the ministry tries to be compassionate towards the workers. If they are required to