All Articles
Clinic quotes worker over $1,000 for a medical report
By Wendy Ma If you had $1,000, how would you spend it? This sum is equivalent to five months of Wang Cunbo’s living expense in Singapore, as he spends only $200 per month. He sends the remaining $1200 of his monthly salary back home in Zhengzhou, China, so that he
Injured worker held by four ‘rabi’ in windowless room
By YC Loh For some transient workers, the option of spending their last days in Singapore calmly settling their affairs and buying gifts before returning home is far removed from reality. Instead, they are forcibly repatriated to their home countries when their employers are unwilling to incur the costs of giving
Workers will bear over $5 billion of costs for injuries sustained in 2011
Preliminary findings from a study of workplace injuries and ill-health in 2011 reveal that slightly more than half of total costs fall on workers themselves, when quantified into dollar terms. Since low-wage foreign workers tend to be the ones doing the dangerous jobs, they suffer injuries and ill-health disproportionately. Now
The temptation of release
By Chow Zhi Ying Zaman (not his real name) was out of work for three months even though his work permit had not expired. After a serious conflict with his supervisor, who demanded money from him, his boss agreed to give him a transfer letter. It would allow Zaman to
Made to stand in a corner like children
"At the [agency] office, every morning, we must clean the office," says Mary Grace Pescador, 31, a domestic helper from the Philippines, "and from 10am to 1am -- i.e. past midnight -- we have to stand. As punishment." The six women were being punished by their employment agent because the
Mixed progress on maids’ day off
This commentary by John Gee, immediate past president of TWC2, was carried in Today newspaper on 22 July 2013: --- It is just before 9am on a Sunday and there is an elegantly dressed woman in the lift, but she is carrying a large bag that does not go with
Over 57,000 meals served in first half 2013
Transient Workers Count Too served 57,852 meals at our Cuff Road Project through the first six months of 2013. We averaged about 2,160 meals per week, which is 45 - 50 percent higher than the weekly average in 2011. The monthly totals can be be gleaned from the table at
Foreman takes money from worker
Within about a week of arriving in Singapore in early January 2013 to take up his welder job, Aminul discovered that the $6,000 (Bangladesh Taka 390,000) he had paid in Bangladesh as "employment agent's fee" was far higher than the norm. "I ask other worker how much they give for
Broken bones but no medical leave
The above are file pictures and do not represent any of the workers mentioned in this article Foreign workers with relatively serious injuries get very little medical leave when their employers send them to private hospitals. From a recent survey (15 July 2013), we came across one worker (Case ref
Homeless Salim’s illegal boss makes up to $150,000 a month
By YC Loh “Where do you stay now?” I ask Salim. "Last night, sleep this table," is his reply, pointing to an eatery table. "Night before, sleep minimart there,” indicating a bit of space under a tree at Little India’s ‘Bangla Square’. He has been brought to this sad, homeless state