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“Company don’t want me anymore,” says this year’s luckiest worker
About ten months after Subra broke his hip, the doctor said it was time to take the metal plate and screws out. His bones had fused well. It would mean a second operation. Subra rather liked the security of having the metal pieces in place; who knows what would happen
Worker asks for reimbursement of medical bills, sets off chain of events
By Sun Hanchen, based on an interview in January 2018 Some months after the accident in September 2016, Rajan (not his real name) was back at work on Jurong Island, albeit instructed by the doctor to undertake only “light duties”. One morning in April 2017, heading to his worksite, he
Alone in a foreign country knowing no one who can help
In the middle of March 2018, TWC2 got a call from a Sikh temple. They were sheltering a young woman who had come to them for help. We asked that she be sent to our office. Khushpreet (not her real name) was a first-time domestic worker, who arrived in Singapore
Neither here nor there: ‘Supply worker’ predicaments
By Sun Hanchen, based on an interview in November 2017 When most of us apply for a job, we have expectations that the job scope will be related to our field of education or training, and that we will have some knowledge of the people whom we will be working
Hossain Sabuj tells us who got rich from his working in Singapore
By Tristan Powell-Odden, based on an interview in January 2018 Hossain Sabuj, like many other migrant workers, had a dream: To open a clothing store that re-sold American brands in Bangladesh, his home country. To raise the needed capital, he would work for a few years overseas. However, because of
“In Singapore, worker is nothing”
By Philomène Franssen based on an interview in January 2018 Those words in the headline I quote from Nazrul, a disillusioned worker currently waiting for the court hearing that will handle his salary claim. Freshly arrived in Singapore in 2007 with the hope to make a decent living in order
Confidence-destroying interactions with doctors leave Shamim with little trust in compensation system
By Alston Ng, based on an interview in January 2018 In the midst of casual conversations with some usual faces at Alankar Restaurant, Hossen Mohammed Shamim, a 29-year-old Bangladeshi who has not worked for about a year and a half, interjects, “You want interview? Come, I give you interview, you
Two injured workers provide detailed accounts of a law firm’s practices
This is a long record (approximately 2,800 words) of what two foreign workers told TWC2 about their experiences with the same law firm. They had engaged the law firm following worksite accidents, but were soon unhappy with the relationship. Both workers either experienced or heard that representatives of the law firm
Mohan feels more secure having a lawyer for his injury claim
By Liang Lei, based on an interview in December 2017 What is the role of a lawyer? While we struggle to form an encompassing definition of the profession, our foreign workers seem to have a fixed perception of them as their all-knowing protector. At TWC2, the vast majority of injured
Eager to go home after 15 jobless months
By Aaron Chua, based on an interview in December 2017 Just look at this!”, Alex exclaims, holding up one of the meal cards that are issued by TWC2 to workers in need. The surprise: The date of injury — 20 September 2016. It has been 15 months since. The card