Articles > Facts, Research, Analysis
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
Worse off for working? Kickbacks, intermediary fees and migrant construction workers in Singapore
By John Gee A majority of Bangladeshi workers in the construction industry may be made to pay their employers for the renewal of their contracts. Typically, they need to be employed in Singapore for at least 17 ½ months if they are to earn enough to pay off their placement
Is MOM outsourcing its work?
The most common question that people ask about the injured men who eat at The Cuff Road Project (TCRP) is whether they have lawyers to help with their case. Well, yes and no. Yes, they have lawyers, but no, the lawyers don’t necessarily help. TWC2’s Cuff Road Project feeds South
Cuff Road Project 2012: 1st half year data
Transient Workers Count Too served 50,258 meals in the first six months of 2012 at our Cuff Road Project. This brings the total number of meals served since the project began to 310,606. As you can see in the bar chart below, the weekly numbers of meals served (each week