Articles > Stories
Seen but unheard
By Wajihah Hamid Watching what happened on Sunday in Singapore’s Little India made my heart sink. At one end of the line of fire were fellow Singaporeans while at the other end were Indian migrant workers – a group whom I followed closely for about 3 months, going to Little
Not often seen: repetitive stress injury
By Eitan "One day, boss face change," says Abdul Khaium. "Somebody senior talk to boss, then boss become like angry me." Abdul Khaium does not know the reason even now, but his story is one of an employer who seems to have been patient and understanding until that day. Once
On light duty, with stiff arm, Soman told to operate a lathe
By Shri Devvi Elangovan “Many pain...I cried because a lot in pain”, describes Miah Mohammad Soman of the moments following his accident. He looks uncomfortable, as he sits in front of us with his left shoulder slouched lower and seemingly stiff. He was rushed to a private clinic in the
Doctors need to talk to their patients, part 2
By Benjamin Wong In part 1 was the story of two workers who were worried that their medical records did not correctly capture the circumstances surrounding their workplace accidents. In both cases, the doctors didn't ask the patients how the injury occurred; representatives of the company spoke to the doctors
Doctors need to talk to their patients, part 1
By Benjamin Wong Injuries are the most common type of case Transient Workers Count Too encounters. For workers as with anyone, getting injured is far from a pleasant experience, to put it euphemistically. But as the many stories published have documented, the accident itself is often only the start of
Young Sujon laid off after only a month in new job
By Joyce Wong Where is next month’s money going to come from? Sitting in front of me is a very young, clean-shaven man. He is neatly dressed with his hair slightly touching his collar. Some would call him good-looking. He is here for his dinner at TWC2's soup kitchen when
Worker couldn’t tell family he’s injured: “I know they will headache”
By Gabriel Liong After working a long shift plus an additional four hours of overtime, Sahajan was looking forward to a restful night. It was 9.15pm. His day at the shipyard had begun at 7.30am. Climbing into the back of his company’s lorry, Sahajan made himself comfortable for the ride
Do workers exaggerate their injuries? Part 2
The scab on one of Das Thiru's knees about three weeks after the accident Continued from PART 'The employers believe these workers exaggerate their injuries to fool doctors' – so reported the Straits Times on 9 November 2013 (‘Hospitals give too much sick leave for injuries: Bosses’ by
Menton diary, part 4
GO TO PART 23 November 2013, Saturday At last, the story appears in the Straits Times, but it's quite deeply buried within the local news section. The Online Citizen has a longer story. For a summary of both stories, see Menton Technologies' failure to pay salaries in the news. Alex
Parvez won’t take any nonsense with salary calculations
By Keith W Workers who have worked in Singapore for a few years tend to know a bit more about their rights. They also know where to get assistance. They are less likely to suffer in silence when their bosses try to take advantage of them. Parvez Late Sona Miah