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The outlaw ocean – human trafficking and other crimes, part 3
Ian Urbina, an investigative reporter for the New York Times, spent years researching the abuses in Southeast Asia's fishing industry. In the above video, he visits a detention centre in Indonesia where he meets with (mostly Vietnamese) men who had been detained when their fishing
The outlaw ocean – human trafficking and other crimes, part 2
The video in this post has investigative journalist Ian Urbina trying to track down alleged murderers and human traffickers in the Thai fishing industry.
The outlaw ocean – human trafficking and other crimes, part 1
Here's a heads-up to a forthcoming book The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina, following his years-long investigation of labour abuses and human trafficking in the fishing industry.
How some employers cheat both the government and workers
In June a year ago, we wrote about the Everglory scam. It's not confined to Everglory Construction Pte Ltd but is in fact quite a common scam. Since the first cases emerged in early 2018, Transient Workers Count Too has seen a new case every few days. The
More of here, less of there: Increase in repeat workers and fat profits for the underground job broker in Singapore
In this research study, TWC2 found that about 80% of South Asian workers were "repeat workers", a huge change from a few years ago. We also found that about half of them used a Singapore-based job broker to find a job. Typically, these are foreign workers themselves, not licensed employment agents. It's illicit but profitable.
Transfer was a sham, settlement agreement was dubious, only the paddyfield was real
By Yasha S based on an interview in January 2019 For 47-year old labourer Motaleb Abdul, seeking justice for what he is owed seems like a never-ending game of disappointment. Despite having a salary settlement agreement drawn by Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), he has yet to be
Ask the insurance company
Most injured workers who seek help from TWC2 have engaged a law firm to assist with their injury claim. Although legal assistance is not necessary for the no-fault work injury compensation (WIC) process at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), many workers feel more secure having an injury lawyer.
Foreign construction workers continue to reduce, no improvement in productivity
Construction workers tidying up at the end of the day The number of Work Permit holders in the construction industry has gradually declined since a peak in 2015. Last December (2018), there were 280,500 Work Permit holders in this sector, fourteen percent below the 2015 figure of
Employer unafraid of workers taking salary claims to the authorities
By L. Narasimhan based on an interview in March 2019 "I wander around the city, going from place to place trying to find a new job," says Sukhwinder Singh, when I ask him what he has been doing for the past three months. "I wake up in my apartment, eat at
Rubel started work with Feiteng1x without knowing his salary — how did that happen?
By Liang lei based on an interview in February 2019 When a foreign worker arrives in Singapore, he would have a letter titled In-Principle Approval for a Work Permit (IPA) from Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), stating his personal details, employer and salary, amongst other details. The IPA letter has