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Why do injured workers flee company housing and do they feel safe enough to return?
By Liang Lei, based on interviews conducted in Feb 2019 Home – a personal space. A fleeting sliver of timeless refuge after a long day of work. A safe haven. Does this hold true for foreign workers who have suffered work-related injuries? According to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), employers
“Money finish,” and “everything selling” while waiting for a new job opportunity
Most foreign workers in the construction industry are in their twenties. Volunteer Jeremy Xiao met a older man in January 2019, who spoke to him about the weight of his family responsibility and the struggle to land a job. Yet, some experiences are all the same whether for younger
Work permit renewal: mysteriously elusive documentation
By intern Ada Cheong The past few weeks have frustrated me in my search for an elusive piece of paper in Singapore. Nobody seems to have a physical copy of it. And much like a mythical creature, it evades photography. Does it even exist? If seeing is believing, I
Rahman and employer agree to settle salary claim… then nothing happens
By Grace Chua, based on an interview in August 2018 It has been three months since Rahman Mostafizur filed a salary claim with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Having started work in March 2017, he was dismayed to note that his salary was unilaterally reduced throughout the fourteen months of
Debt, jail and “no future”: an overstayer’s story
By Darrell Foo, based on an interview in November 2018 At TWC2's Cuff Road Project where free meals are distributed to destitute foreign workers, almost all the men's "makan cards" (meal eligibility cards issued by TWC2) state "injury" or "not paid salary" as their problems. My guess is that 99%
Eight men surround Raju at a coffeeshop
We first featured Raju in the story To encash two cheques, Raju had to jump through hoops, which was about his last three days before going home. Prior to that, he was having difficulty getting due settlement of his injury compensation claim and this story below is about an incident
Salary non-payment was first sign, then all workers lost their jobs
By Mohamed Kasshif, based on an interview in September 2018 “Boss say, don’t worry, still can work”; Zobayar explains the reply he got from his employer upon realising that his work permit had been revoked without notice. It’s been two months since he last received his salary and now he
Here’s Shakil, who has worked in both Dubai and Singapore
In Singapore, we rarely see workers who have worked in the Middle East before coming here. Why that is so probably involves complex reasons outside the scope of this article. Shakil is the unusual one. He spent five years in Dubai before coming to Singapore. We seize the opportunity to
From overcharging to plain flouting of the law — Ratan’s story
By Katia Barthelemy, based on an interview in August 2018 Each migrant worker’s story is unique. Yet, in all the stories we hear at TWC2, we can detect injustice, lack of respect, abuse, illegal treatment or a combination of them. Miah Mohammad Ratan, like most migrant workers in Singapore, started
In-Principle Approval: uses and abuses 2011 – 2018, part 5
Part 5: the Section 6A requirement The long name for this rule is “Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations 2012, Fourth Schedule, Part IV, Section 6A”. The clause in the subsidiary legislation says: 6A. (1) The employer shall not — (a) Reduce the foreign employee’s basic monthly salary or fixed monthly