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The lost boys, part 1: Accused of being homosexual, beaten and dismissed
Part one of three: “I’ll suicide tomorrow,” Masum says from behind his doleful eyes. “I can’t go home, I have no money... family very, very poor.” Ever since he arrived in Singapore Masum’s life has been something of a soap opera filled with characters who have walk-on parts that include
The scenic route to solving salary disputes
A simple salary claim became a 14-month saga, eating up a good chunk of state resources. It was completely unnecessary, since the solutions that would prevent such disputes from arising in the first place are almost no-brainers. Yet, for reasons unknown, the Ministry of Manpower has not adopted the suggested
Boomi’s African odyssey, part 5
Continued from part 4. This is the fifth of six parts: The Angolan passport ready, Boomi, Rajeesh, and Emil made the long trip by car from Cotonou, Benin, through Togo all the way to Accra, Ghana where Boomi would fly out of Kotoka International Airport. Still in charge of all
Boss says to injured worker: “You must work, if not, go back Bangladesh”
By Xinlin Transient Workers Count Too sees many cases where an employer might consider early repatriation of a worker to be the best solution to avoid further costs, especially work injury compensation. This is particularly if the employer has failed to take up insurance, even though under Section 23 of
Is MOM outsourcing its work?
The most common question that people ask about the injured men who eat at The Cuff Road Project (TCRP) is whether they have lawyers to help with their case. Well, yes and no. Yes, they have lawyers, but no, the lawyers don’t necessarily help. TWC2’s Cuff Road Project feeds South
What counts more? Cash flow or human suffering?
By Benjamin Wong Sahabuddin is in pain. Sahabuddin wants to get rid of the pain in his back and return home, but he cannot do so. He has been waiting for an operation since April – he had to forgo a scheduled operation date for July 23rd, because his employer
Blacklisted from Singapore for her boss’ mistakes
By Francesca Kusmayati says her Singaporean employer asked her time and again to go to the airport to pick up new domestic workers arriving from abroad. The Indonesian domestic worker, who goes by the name ‘Yati’ says she wasn’t in a position to say ‘no’ to her boss. “I didn’t
Worker may need operation for back injury, employer wants to send him home
By Arjun Naidu One June evening, at a coffee shop along Rangoon Road, construction worker Md Ebrahim Miah faced a stark choice. “Boss very angry,” he says. “Say, ‘now I give you ten minutes, you go back [to Bangladesh] or no?’” Though he didn't know it at the time, his
Boomi’s African odyssey, part 4
Continued from Part 3 This is the fourth of six parts: On return to Cotonou, the immigration officials didn’t need to stamp his passport, because Boomi hadn’t crossed immigration in Morocco. His luggage was lighter by one large bag, which presumably had gone on ahead to Montreal. There wasn’t much
Seven to seven
7 am on Saturday, 7 July 2012. Two heavily-tattooed Chinese men walked into a company dormitory and demanded that Md Mustakim Khan pack his belongings right away. "They say to me, 'Today your flight go home'," recalled the worker from Bangladesh. He protested that he had only just been given