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Kamal climbs out of window, 12 floors up, to get help
Kamal gingerly opened a window, hoping it wouldn't make a noise. Heart pounding, he stepped out, trying not to look down. He was twelve floors up Block 601 Jurong West. With certain death should he miss a step, he made his way to the ground, never before so careful in
Two years after accident, Lutfor Rahman still waiting for case conclusion
By Kan Ren Jie I ask Lutfor Rahman how he is, and I am struck by his frank answer: ‘I now very bad. Now no job, makan got problem.’ While Rahman initially appears cheerful when I sit down and talk with him at TWC2's free meals programme, laughing at some
Four years after the accident, Abdus still waiting for injury compensation
By Shona Mac It is a busy Monday evening at Transient Workers Count Too's Cuff Road Project and there is a throng of men queuing to receive a meal and milling around chatting to the team of volunteers. Abdus Salam is patiently waiting to speak to his TWC2 case worker
Hand nearly severed, no ambulance, no paramedics called
By Jiang Haolie There was so much blood that even the bath towel wrapped around Mahbubul’s half-severed wrist was soaked. His ulnar vein was crudely ripped by a metal sheet as Mahbubul lost his footing and fell. “I cannot even talk”, Mahbubul says, recounting the immense pain he experienced, and gesturing
Bureaucrats close eyes, fold arms as worker’s salary slashed
Prabhu was unhappy about his boss' tactics that reduced his earnings, and came to us in March 2016 seeking advice. For over a year, the construction company that employed him didn't have enough work to keep all its employees occupied. Management (sort of) rostered the workers, such that in each
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