Continued from Part 1. This second part of the JS Metal saga shows up defects in the Ministry of Manpower's processes. From the many cases that TWC2 has seen, it appears that these defects spring mainly from the heroic assumption that when a case of salary non-payment or underpayment arises, it's a "labour relations" dispute
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 the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)
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 Interior Decoration, located at Kallang
Buried within an announcement about a new minimum percentage of higher-skilled workers in construction firms, the Ministry of Manpower also announced that work permit construction workers will be able to move to new jobs at the end of their work permit periods without first having to go home. This new policy will take effect from
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 to get his employer to
Rahman Md Jaminur found himself at the bottom of a drain, severe pain shooting from his right ankle. His back also hurt. Fortunately, his phone was within reach and he called his friend. Help, I fell. Two co-workers came running. They carried him to the construction site office where the safety supervisor was. The latter said,
By Alex Au Many stories on the website of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) tell of the abuses inflicted on migrant workers in Singapore. TWC2 holds the view that the regulatory system governing the recruitment and control of foreign labour lies at the root of these abuses. Fortunately, many employers refrain from taking full advantage
By TWC2 vice-president Alex Au On Friday 29 August 2014, the Ministry of Manpower said that my letter published in the Straits Times forum 25 August 2014 (Salary non-payment a big issue for migrant workers) "paints an inaccurate picture". MOM's reply was published in the newspaper on Friday 29 August. The headline of MOM's letter
Veluchamy Duraisamy is a happy worker. On or around 4 August 2014, he (more or less) won his case at the Labour Court. He is extremely grateful to TWC2. It might have turned out very differently without us. Durai had to go to the Labour Court eight times to get his overtime pay, leaving the
The Straits Times recently carried a story about foreign worker accommodation. Unfortunately, it didn't get to the heart of the matter: the way government policies affect cost and affordability considerations. The newspaper's 19 August 2014 story spoke about the rising number of vacancies at purpose-built dormitories. There are about 5,000 vacancies, said the story, though
