Articles > Stories
Bhuiyan and friends defeated, part 3
Continued from part 2. Part 1 narrated what happened when Monir Bhuiyan, Titu, Mahi Uddin and Shahjahan came to Singapore for their jobs at JS Metal Pte Ltd. They had each been offered $550 a month as basic salary. This was documented in the In-Principle Approval letters (IPA) issued by
Bhuiyan and friends defeated, part 4
Continued from part 3. TWC2 stayed in contact off and on with the four men from JS Metal Pte Ltd through the months following the lodging of their claims at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). For a while they had some work, all at temporary jobs "make furniture" with Delco Art
Forced to sign blank salary vouchers as soon as they take up their jobs
By Ashley Frois Salary disputes and unpaid wages are, unfortunately, common issues plaguing our foreign workers, but Shoriful Islam’s case stands out in particular. He and his colleagues are seasoned workers in Singapore, but on arrival earlier this year for their current job, were forced to sign empty salary vouchers.
The more we talked the more we discovered
By Jennifer Parenteau Mohamed Ariful sits down beside me and begins to tell me his story. At first it seems like a simple case of improper calculation of his medical leave wages, but as we talk it reveals much more than that! In June 2014, Ariful was working for the
Big hole in ground dug with big hole in worker’s pay
Yeusof (not his real name) knew there was something wrong with his monthly pay slip from Hyundai Engineering & Construction when he showed up for breakfast at TWC2's Cuff Road Project one morning in September 2014. He was quite sure his employer had underpaid him, showing us his documents so
Worker with infectious disease had treatment aborted
In theory, employers are required by law to provide medical treatment for work permit holders they bring into Singapore. In practice, the more unscrupulous employers will try to get the employee out of Singapore before the worker realises he is being deprived of treatment and learns to use official channels
Are workers’ troubles due to ignorance or to harsh realities that leave them vulnerable?
By Elizabeth Zhou The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recently printed colourful flyers in four languages – English, Chinese, Bengali and Tamil. Meant to reassure and educate the migrant worker community of the procedures and processes in place to take care of their rights, these flyers paint an image of a
Company insists Aktar see a doctor he has no faith in
By Isabel Chew Aktaruzzaman is intent on telling me his story. His cellphone rings a number of times during our interview but he rejects them because it is more important that people hear his story. On 23 July, Aktar and a co-worker were moving a 6-inch pipe weighing (by his
MOM orders company to pay MC wages, a month on, worker still waiting
By Jennifer Parenteau As an employer, you are responsible for medical leave wages and medical expenses of your worker injured at work, even if they have been dismissed. When you read this quote from a Work Safety & Health (WSH) bulletin, published in April 2013 by the Ministry of Manpower
No salary, no day off for 20 months, part 2
By Nissa Mai Continued from Part 1. I have a lot of other questions for Surya [1]. How did such an empowered, decisive young woman get trapped in a clearly illegal and exploitative situation for such long time? Wasn't her contract for only two years? And if she didn't receive