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Escaping from ruthless employer, Amzad gets help at every turn
By Chow Shunqi, based on an interview in September 2017 (27 Sept) He stayed as quiet as he could so others would think he was asleep. When it was 3am, he tiptoed out of the room, walked as far as he could with an injured ankle and found a hiding
Basic salary stated in IPA is “prima facie” the applicable basic salary, rules the High Court
In a landmark judgment released 1 November 2017, the High Court has ruled that the basic salary stated in the In-Principle Approval for a Work Permit (IPA) "would constitute prima facie evidence" of the correct basic salary rate, unless the employer can prove otherwise. The bar for proving otherwise was
Hosen Khalilur has had to fork out $3,500 in rent
Video by Jonathan Ang, August 2017 Hosen Khalilur's experience is typical of the cases that come to Transient Workers Count Too. After sustaining a back injury at work and being placed on medical leave, company officials make it difficult for him to stay on in company accommodation. In Hosen's case,
What are the rules for housing injured workers?
Many injured workers, after leaving their dorms, find bunk space in Little India The law as to who is responsible for workers' accommodation is a dustball of words. The exact meaning is fuzzy and can be squeezed every which way. In practice however, the words are largely rendered moot.
When being unreasonable pays off
By Jiang Zhi Feng, based on an interview in October 2017 After Rana Masum approached a lawyer to lodge an injury compensation claim, he found his Work Permit cancelled by his employer. Not long after, his boss wanted him to move out of his current dormitory, Westlite Dormitory at Toh
Injured Azizul given only $1,000 to live on for 15 months
By Philomène Franssen, based on an interview in September 2017 One thousand dollars is what Azizul received from his employer seven months after the June 2016 accident that took place at his work site. It was supposed to be his medical leave wages, but since he was on medical leave ("MC")
Sumon has been five years in Singapore, never held his son before
By Nicholas Lee, based on an interview in September 2017 “Men die, company no thinking, only thinking money”. With words like that reflecting the treatment that Miah Md Sumon and his fellow compatriots receive, it is hard to imagine the lives they lead working in a far-away country away from
Caring for the caregiver: foreign domestic workers’ access to medical care
In a survey of 468 foreign domestic workers ("FDW"), TWC2 found that generally, their access to medical care for minor ailments did not seem to be impeded. Over 80% of FDWs were taken by their employers to a doctor when they felt ill and requested for medical attention. Over 80%
When an employer says a worker has ‘run away’, what really happened? Sumon’s story
Sumon speaking with the volunteer writer By Liang Lei, based on an interview in August 2017 Sometimes, when it comes to foreign workers, it is both worrying and terrifying to realize just how much they are at the mercy of the employers, in an environment of lax enforcement
Fraud committed using ministry letterhead
Sarowar (not his real name) approaches our help desk hesitantly. Despite being in his mid-thirties, he does not exude much self-confidence. Maybe it's because he knows his English is weak, and what he has to tell us is fairly complicated. However, it didn't take us long to grasp the nub