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There goes the number one worker
By Janson Chang “I was the number one good worker,” says Sheikh Milon, betraying a hint of emotion for the first time in our conversation, beneath his otherwise rugged, unflappable exterior. “I worked six years, no MC. Company grow from 40 to 400 people. But after injury…” His voice trails
Harri boss finally sent to jail for salary and housing abuses
In an encouraging development, the prosecutor in a recent case made the argument that using the threat of dismissal and repatriation to compel foreign workers to accept lower wages would constitute an offence. According to a news story in Today newspaper, Nallusamy Narayanan, the boss of a number of companies
One quarter of Labour Court salary orders unpaid
At the parliamentary sitting of 9 January 2017, Nominated Member of Parliament Kok Heng Leun posed a question to the Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say (pictured above). As published in the Hansard, Labour Court Orders on Employee Salary Non-payment Mr Kok Heng Leun asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how
Shortpaid, indebted and repatriated
By Jiang Haolie Molla Shohid will be put on a flight back to his village of Bhouria Challa in Bangladesh any day now. He does not know if he will be compensated for the promised wages that never materialised. He is not even sure of the day of the flight.
Employers should purchase more insurance, salutary lesson shows
We'll call the worker 'Byoghu' in this story. He had worked before in Singapore and quite successfully. But when he returned for a second job, he soon fell ill. In the first two weeks on the job, he had a fever and was given medical leave. The employer decided to
Sujel’s agent charged him 26 times his basic salary for placement fee
S Peramaiyan (left) and Sujel (right) By Teo Yi Ning It is not often that we get to meet a migrant worker that has been working and living in Singapore for more than 20 years. Subramaniyan Peramaiyan first came to Singapore from India in 1995 as a construction
Average recruitment cost hit $15,000 in 2015 for first-time Bangladeshi construction workers
After hearing anecdotal reports of 'agent fees' in the region of $17,000 or $18,000, Transient Workers Count Two carried out a pilot survey to determine if these were rare cases, or if recruitment costs have risen dramatically. An earlier research report published in 2012, Worse off for working? found that
“Please change the system, and I will come again to work”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6f1FP_EgZU By Gek Han “Please Singapore government, please change the system, and I will come here again to work.” When Hossain returns to Bangladesh, he will try to find work in South Korea, rather than Singapore. Before coming to Singapore in 2013, Hossain tried to find employment in South
Was there no prosecution in 2016 for non-payment of salaries?
As 2016 came to a close, TWC2 trawled through the website of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to see what prosecutions have been listed there through the year. MOM issues press releases whenever an employer has been sentenced in court. TWC2 found twelve mentions in MOM's website through 2016. The list
Worker unable to collect injury compensation; MOM says he must be “realistic”
Just like Islam Rafiqul's case which was told in the Straits Times last week, Sujan Ahmed too is unable to collect the Labour Court award he has been given. Sujan's employer is simply refusing to pay up and the Ministry of Manpower suggested that he should apply to the State Courts