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Nazim’s employer didn’t report accident to ministry for ten months
By Keith W Nazim Chowdhury shows me a three-page document he printed out. It's the formal accident report that his employer provided to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The incident was described in the document thus: That he "... with a co-worker was tasked to remove a beam at the
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
Woolim, part 2: case vanishes
Continued from Woolim, part 1: How low can a salary get? Early January 2014, Iqbal comes to the office with a group of his co-workers telling us that three of the fifteen men have accepted a settlement offer from the employer Woolim, wherein each of them would receive $2,000. This,
Naidu shared a truck with machinery, his hand paid the price
By Joyce Wong 28 June 2013. Morning. Although he had reported to work, Ravada Gouru Naidu felt a headache coming on, and his supervisor allowed him to go back to the dormitory to rest. He could get a ride back on the company lorry, but since the cab was fully
Migrant workers at writers’ fortnight at United World College
By Pat Meyer and Christine Pelly, photos by Low Yim Kuan Over the course of two days in January, twenty migrant workers from Bangladesh and India talked about their lives with just over 200 students from over 40 different countries. The students were 14- and 15-year-olds from an international school
Five years on, Junnuri still waiting for injury pay-out
Junnuri Subrahmanyam's flight was booked for the evening. He wanted a day off on his last day in Singapore so he could go downtown to buy gifts for this family. He had been working four years with Sin Hong Thai Engineering and was looking forward to going home. But instead
Law students’ reflections 4: Crossing a road
By Charmaine Yap On the very first day of our 3-week internship at TWC2, Alex told us most emphatically that we would need to “step out of our middle class mindset and assumptions”. That thought particularly stuck with me. Thinking back now, I doubt I had really understood then what
Workplace injuries and migrant workers
By John Gee The annual report for 2012 of the Occupational Safety and Health Division (link to Part 1, Part 2), released in March 2013, ("OSHD Report") showed that the number of workplace deaths had fallen to 56, its lowest level in nine years. However, the total number of injuries
Esan comes back to a new job
By Keith W He waves to me while I am standing in the ATM line. He looks familiar but I can't place him. Guessing that I am having some difficulty remembering him, he approaches me to re-introduce himself. "You not remember me? My name Esan*," he says. "Last time I
Dulal put to lie-detector test
Continued from Dulal faced problems on all fronts, none of his own making Laymen think that polygraph tests can reliably establish the veracity of a person’s statement and detect his lies. Perhaps those old movies of the polygraph pen gyrating wildly on the chart and the suspect shouting out his confession,