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Did Ram really need to quit the dorm just to seek injury compensation?
By Fuxiong "Now you see, my finger swollen," says Arangulavan Sri Ram, "but no more appointment at Mount E." Mount Elizabeth Hospital at Novena was where he had been treated post-accident, but with no further follow-up appointments scheduled, Ram went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital instead last week. Two fingers
While employer resists giving treatment and MOM acts slowly, TWC2 saves Afzal’s future
Afzal first came to the attention of Transient Workers Count Too on 22 March 2013, six days after being assaulted by a Thai worker wielding a beer bottle. Just looking at Afzal, you wouldn’t know that anything was seriously wrong. You'd spot a black eye, with a little blood in
Good employer, but injured worker still wants to sue
By Davina Tham When injured workers come to Transient Workers Count Too, the sorry tales they bring are usually about trying to get proper medical treatment and difficulty in getting reluctant employers to foot the bills as they should by law. Rarely is there someone like Lakshmanan Sasikumar, whose employer
The rice miller
By Shahnaz What does Mattaparthi Kumaraswamy have to show for the six years he has worked? Very little. When he goes back to India, he will have no savings, hardly any prospect of a job, yet there's an extended family to feed. Has he seen the sights of Singapore, gone shopping in
Murugan loses left eye to a safety award
An incentive to promote work safety backfired on Boomi Murugan. He was not allowed to see a doctor immediately after an injury because, according to the worker, the assistant manager wanted to win the annual award. Murugan worked for a hydrojetting company. Although he had a face shield on, five
Ilo Ilo: parts of film don’t reflect life of a domestic worker
By Marifel Mosquera Teresita (Terry) is the newly hired helper of Lim Family from the Province of Iloilo in the Philippines. Like most of the women who come to Singapore as domestic workers, she is looking to better her life and climb out of poverty. The film is about her
Workers turn flash mob at Yale-NUS College
By TK “The students had a blast!" said Professor Anju Mary Paul. "Their interactions with the workers both in Little India and today have fundamentally changed their views about migrant workers in Singapore.” Paul is from Yale-NUS College's Division of Social Sciences, and was speaking to TWC2 after the college
Caught doing illegal work — a lucky break for Ramachandran
By Benjamin Wong Arumugam Ramachandran first came to Singapore four years ago. For three years Ramachandran worked injury free, but seven months ago, during a routine construction job, Ramachandran injured his knee. At first, he was unwilling to report it, and tried to carry on working, hoping the pain would
‘The sweets were delicious’
Once in a while, Transient Workers Count Too succeeds in helping a worker get everything that is due to him. Not only is the worker happy, so are we. Deliriously. But there was a month in which everything looked very bleak for Hazrat (not his real name). His employer had
Thamil borrowed from legal assistant to survive
By Max Ang The modern urban environment is a tough and unrelenting place where the simplest of needs is monetised. Money is needed in the exchange for basic necessities, such as food and shelter. Without it, one can starve amidst plenty. Such is the predicament of Perumal Thamilarasan. Two years