All Articles
Phantom job sucks Ali’s savings dry
By Gek Han On paper, Ali Noman, 40, was employed for about five months. His work permit was issued by construction company Sun Demolition Pte Ltd last July. In reality, Ali was given neither work not wages. “Friend say no work. Company say no work,” Ali says not with anger,
Pierced by steel rod, nineteen stitches, but not one ‘How are you doing?’
By Zoe Lin As Islam Rezaul turned on his mobile phone to show me photos of his injury, I couldn’t help but gasp in shock at the sight of them. There was a stab wound about the size of a 50-cent coin and a long line of stitches that ran through the
Three months so far in Singapore: two jobs in two months, one month without job
This case was first covered in the story Four workers allege employer made them pay for their jobs, MOM investigating. That was based on an interview in December 2015 soon after a group of men had lodged complaints at the Ministry of Manpower. In this subsequent interview, conducted on 8
Worker says his employer wanted him to tell doctor, ‘I OK already’
By Saw Suhui Rana Masud met with an accident on the 19 May 2015. His left thumb was cut off and the hospital was not able to reattach it. They tried the first time, but in Rana’s words, it was “many problem, sensitive”, and was amputated on 15 February this
Paid and paid for three jobs, only to end up injured and jobless
By Jas Kaur Abu Younus Mohammad is no novice to work in Singapore. So why is it that a man who has experience and in fact, skills, is sitting here with no job? Younus has held three jobs in Singapore. Firstly, he did a painting job for two years, for
$300 fine or prison for dropping a cigarette butt
Sep 2012 arrived Singapore Aug 2013 injured at work, 3 months MC Feb 2014 caught working illegally Apr 2015 received injury compensation of $4,000+ Feb 2016 issued $300 fine for dropping a cigarette butt A sad chronology of events for Hasibul: He had worked for less than one year when
Four workers allege employer made them pay for their jobs, MOM investigating
By Ranjana Raghunathan At TWC2's Cuff Road Project, a group of five workers, three Indian and two Bangladeshi, catch my attention. They seem to know each other, and have come to enroll themselves in the free meal program together. Upon questioning a little, I learn that they, along with
TWC2 hosts nearly 200 students in a single week in March
The second week of March 2016 was a busy week for TWC2 volunteers, as nearly 200 students from two schools came to us for a Day School programme. However, Day School is not just for school students. Occasionally there have been groups of civil servants. Most of the time though,
26 stitches in his hand, 2 days medical leave
By Richard S Getting off at Farrer Park station, I pass railing after railing of discount clothes, sunglasses, and mobile phone accessories. This is an area catering to the migrant workers of southern India and Bangladesh. The food here is authentic, delicious, and served with staggeringly large portions of rice.
Seeing rain clouds on a clear day
By Lucas Sim All through my hour with Masud (not his real name), I was expecting him to say something like 'my boss don't want me to see doctor', or 'my boss don't want to pay for my treatment'. These are common complaints that volunteers like me hear from workers