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Walking the talk in Little India
It is that time of the year when a new crop of students start their university education. This week past Transient Workers Count Too have been kept busy reaching out to freshmen at the National University of Singapore (NUS). On the morning of Wednesday, 1 August 2012, TWC2 president Russell
Work injury compensation limits increased as at 1 June 2012
The New Paper reported, on 4 August 2012, that a total of $68 million was awarded in compensation for permanent incapacity and death in 2011. It did not provide any split between froeign and local workers, nor did it say how much claimants actually received. Very often, in TWC2's experience,
Boomi’s African odyssey, part 4
Continued from Part 3 This is the fourth of six parts: On return to Cotonou, the immigration officials didn’t need to stamp his passport, because Boomi hadn’t crossed immigration in Morocco. His luggage was lighter by one large bag, which presumably had gone on ahead to Montreal. There wasn’t much
Seven to seven
7 am on Saturday, 7 July 2012. Two heavily-tattooed Chinese men walked into a company dormitory and demanded that Md Mustakim Khan pack his belongings right away. "They say to me, 'Today your flight go home'," recalled the worker from Bangladesh. He protested that he had only just been given
Belly good fun at benefit dinner
It was a warm night on the rooftop of Zsofi Tapas Bar last Sunday (29 July 2012) but all the guests -- numbering over a hundred -- had a good time. Transient Workers Count Too's fundraising and volunteer appreciation dinner went off with hardly a hitch, with an equal mix
When non-payment of salaries has almost become routine
By Benjamin Wong TWC2 treasurer Alex Au went down the line of men queuing up to get their meal coupons at the charity's soup kitchen. "Salary case or injury case?" he asked each man in turn. At random, he pulled out two men with salary cases, and asked them to
Boomi’s African odyssey, part 3
Continued from part 2 This is the third of six parts: Rajeesh was the only one who knew anything about the city of Cotonou, Benin, and having gone out regularly he had picked up a working knowledge of French. At the beginning of their stay, Liady Furaimo’s African friends would
A musical mechanic
By Arjun Naidu Mechanic Devadass Ganesamoorthy was having his lunch break when five or six Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officers raided the workshop in June. “They ask, 'Where permit?' and I give permit.” But although Devadass was a mechanic, he was listed as 'musician' on his work permit. “So they
Might paying salary on time have saved a life?
By Benjamin Wong To the question 'Are you married?', Mohsin Howlander pauses, pursing his lips. “My wife, she die already,” he replies, fighting back tears. “Oh dear, how did that happen?” your TWC2 volunteer asks him. He switches from grief to anger, spitting out the words like a curse: “She
Foreign worker told: “If we kill you, there won’t be any witness”
In his nine months since arriving in Singapore, Habibur (not his real name) has been scolded – verbally and physically – threatened with his life, exploited, beaten and forced to lie to the MOM. As a teacher in his native Bangladesh, Habibur could expect, on top of regular work, a modicum of