All Articles
Sukranjan’s case drags beyond 12 months. How is he to survive?
By Troy Lee, based on an interview in May 2017 On the Ministry of Manpower’s website, it is stated that most work injury claims take “3 to 6 months for most cases. Some injuries may need more time to stabilise before a doctor can assess for permanent incapacity.” However, many of
Two men thinking of home
By Sun Hanchen Every day, tens of thousands of foreign workers begin their day in the wee hours of the morning. They are employed to do blue-collar work shunned by Singaporeans – construction, maintenance and transport amongst others – and are often treated as faceless economic factors. But they have
Job prematurely ended, Mollah Sharif facing debt collectors in three days
By Bill Poorman All he needs is some more time. Not forever. “One week, two week, three week,” Mollah Sharif Hossain says. Instead, he got only three days. Three days to save his life. It’s a Monday evening at TWC2's free meals programme. Just yesterday, Mollah Sharif and his co-worker, Rafique
Kamroul waiting months for MRI, not allowed to work, no income
By Sun Hanchen Hasan Kamroul was a marine trades worker, working at Benoi Shipyard. 7 December 2016 was supposed to be just another normal work night for him, but all changed several hours into his shift. Having been tasked to move some 26-inch pipes with two of his fellow workers,
Straits Times reports on ‘gaps in Labour Court system’ and the plight of 5 Zach Engineering employees
Following the launch of TWC2's research report yesterday (see Labour protection for the vulnerable: challenges and recommendations), the Straits Times carried two stories Friday (30 June 2017) almost filling up all of page B4. Click to enlarge The newspaper noted that our research study found "significant obstacles
Labour protection for the vulnerable: challenges and recommendations
A new study released by Transient Workers Count Too on 29 June 2017 reveals challenges faced by low-wage migrant workers with unpaid salaries and workplace injuries in obtaining compensation and recourse. The study, conducted by researchers at the Singapore Management University (“SMU”) and Transient Workers Count Too (“TWC2”), reveals that
The Everglory scam: productivity incentive shot to pieces
Bikas (left) and Mazibar (right) were two highly experienced workers from the group of five This is a story of how one branch of the government undermines what another branch is trying to do. Low productivity in the construction industry has been a concern for years. Among the measures
The rough seas of debt
In an earlier story[1], Liang Lei has sketched the origins of Sikder Sumon's salary case and the long time it took at the Ministry of Manpower. Here, Edgar Chan adds a bit more detail about the MOM process and discusses the wider context By Edgar Chan On the evening of
Sumon’s salary case stretched for five months, exhausting his ability to fight for his full amount
By Liang Lei “I tired already”, was Sumon’s reply to why he chose not to continue pursuing his case, despite a settlement that will only entitle him to S$11,000. That’s half of the amount he believes is owed to him by his employer. Sumon has not seen his family for
Hundreds of thousands of foreign workers stuffed into office drawers
By Katia Barthélémy Heading to one of the restaurants in Little India where TWC2 offers free meals to injured and salary-unpaid migrant workers, I am wondering about the kind of life story I will come across tonight. As a fairly new volunteer with TWC2, my limited experience makes me think