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Boomi’s African odyssey, part 1
This is the first of six parts: The house in Pattukottai, Tamil Nadu, is unfinished, with reinforced steel bars poking out from the flat concrete roof. There are walls, ceiling, and floors of rough concrete, windows and doorways with frames, but no windows or doors, water or fixtures. It provides shelter
Plank gave way under his feet, while worker was 25 metres above ground, part 1
"Look, my hand like this, cannot move," said Moriddul. His fingers could move, but he couldn't flex or rotate his wrist. "When did this happen?" your writer asked him. October 2011, he said. He was a "supplied worker", seconded by his boss to another contractor's construction site. On the fateful
EZ-link top-up scheme makes hospital visits so much easier
"I no have money," said Hashem. "How to take bus?" "So you mean you didn't go to your hospital for your appointment?" I asked. "You must go. Otherwise, how are you going to get well?" "I go. I walk there." A quick estimation of the distance from the dinky hole
Translating humanity
Commentary by Jamie Lin Weirong Humanitarian organisations such as TWC2 have long been advocating for the proper treatment of foreign workers in Singapore. The appeals against the abuse of foreign labour often revolve around notions of ‘justice’, ‘fairness’ and ‘dignity’, principles with an obvious enough value. Though these workers might not look
Ball retrievers sent out of bounds
Everything was wrong about Majid's job except one thing: he was earning the kind of money he had hoped for, and he was being paid on time. Having invested about $4,400 in recruiting agent's fees to land the job in Singapore, now making $900 to $950 a month meant that
Trafficking and the media
‘If you are a media worker or a person whose work involves contact with the media, how do you deal with the issue of trafficking in an ethical way? Trafficking stories often involve such appalling conditions and events that they are real attention grabbers. They can appeal to those working
Proposals for the amendment of Regulations issued under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act
The EFMA governs the employment of foreign staff in Singapore. The great majority of non-Singaporean employees are low-salaried migrant workers.Out of over one million non-Singaporeans employed in the country in 2011, 870,000 are low paid workers considered to be semi-skilled who are present on work permits. Perhaps another 100,000 are
Proposals for the amendment of the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA)
The EFMA governs the employment of foreign personnel in Singapore. The great majority of non-Singaporean employees are low-salaried migrant workers. TWC2 brought together a legal team to work on proposals for the amendment of EFMA and the regulations issued under it – specifically, the different types of work pass. TWC2
Anis the plumber: sentenced to clean an Australian coal tanker
Until February this year Anis worked inside a large coal tanker; he would spend around 10 hours in its guts with five men for company, a power hose and the toxic fumes of anti-corrosive paint with which they coated the walls. Anis’ story isn’t unusual. As a plumber by trade,
Teenagers spend a rainy Saturday afternoon grasping the issues
By Paul M As a society we can often measure our progress by the attitudes, ambitions and actions of our youth. So one of the more hopeful signs is the increasing interest of youth and educationists in the treatment of migrant workers. Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) has a programmme