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“Agree to lower salary, or you won’t get your pay,” says company manager
By Wahid Al Mamun based on an interview late July 2017 A lot of things can happen in two months, and Mollah Showrov has learned this the hard way. His right leg is now in held immobile in an orthopaedic boot. I notice how gingerly he seats himself in the
Employer proclaims he lied to ministry, then gets away with paying less in salary
Transient Workers Count Too came across a very interesting statement by Mr Tan Khim Long, director of KBC Engineering Pte Ltd. The company was defending a salary claim by a former employee, a Bangladeshi named Showkat, for short-payment of salary. The case was heard by the Manpower Ministry's Labour Court
Records of accidents are such a nuisance, aren’t they?
By Namgay Choden, based on an interview in July 2017 With me this evening is Howlader Mohammod Selim, and he tells me about what happened in September 2016. Selim had suffered an accident at work, and was brought to Ng Teng Fong Hospital in Jurong East. After treatment, the doctor
Harri men go home, not everything resolved
On 23 June 2017, we put up a post on Facebook that said: This is Jafar Ahmmad. He came in 2014 to work for Harri Engineering. His boss, Nallusamy Narayanan accused him and other workers of taking their pay and not showing up for work. As it turns out, his
A leap of faith goes four metres down
By Liang Lei, based on an interview in June 2017 What would you do if you think that your job constitutes a breach of safety regulations? For foreign workers, even having a choice of action is regrettably often a luxury. The consequence of disobeying supervisors’ orders, however unsafe, can be the
Wage theft as it happens
There are many stories on this website about employers arbitrarily reducing migrant workers' salaries soon after the latter have started on their jobs. Employers and their agents promise certain terms of employment while the worker is still in his home country, but once the worker has arrived in Singapore, salaries are lowered
A profile: Amin stays positive despite setbacks
By Jonah Foong, based on an interview in June 2017 Across the world, foreign labour is often cheap, and their working conditions abysmal. Tales of starving, overworked, and unpaid workers are not unheard of – a simple google search will turn up stories of ‘modern slavery’ in places like Qatar
Alam’s one angry, kicking rooster
By Beh Jing Yi, based on an interview in June 2017 It has been five months since Alam Md Khorshed received any medical leave wages from his employer. He estimates he is owed about $3,900. He has approached the Ministry of Manpower for help over this, he says, and meetings with
After ten days in hospital, company tries to rush Mazharul onto a plane
By Janson Chang, based on an interview in June 2017 Throughout most of our conversation Islam Mazharul does not sit easy. The two friends who accompany him do more than half the telling, during which Mazahrul does not seem to be tuning in to it himself. It seems like he
Contract substitution made easier by ministry?
Over the years, Transient Workers Count Too has seen many cases where, after arriving in Singapore to start on their jobs, migrant workers are told by their bosses that the salary stated on the In-Principle Approval (IPA) letter will not be honoured. Instead they are given the choice of accepting a