By Janson Chang, based on an interview in June 2017 Throughout most of our conversation Islam Mazharul does not sit easy. The two friends who accompany him do more than half the telling, during which Mazahrul does not seem to be tuning in to it himself. It seems like he is miles away. His nervous
By Marcus Chee, based on an interview in June 2017 Through nine months, Noor Mohammod was only given a meagre amount of $130 monthly by his employer, and the entirety of that money had to be allocated to pay a catering company so that he could get his daily meals. $130. That's all? I sit
On the boarding pass is handwritten "Handcarry 6 kg". That's all he was allowed with him as he was taken to the airport. By Sun Hanchen; based on an interview in May 2017 The TWC2 volunteer was only following TWC2's registration protocol, as he requested Shahjahan Mahamud to pose for a simple photo
Google Earth view of Bedok Industrial Park C. Bedok North MRT station is under construction at lower part of image. By Wahid Al Mamun, based on an interview in May 2017 What constitutes a workplace injury? This seems like an easy question to answer as I sit with Rana Md Sohel at TWC2’s
By Liang Lei, based on an interview in May 2017 Undoubtedly, Singapore can boast of a world-leading healthcare system that offers high quality medical treatment for a wide range of injuries, diseases and emergencies. Unfortunately, timely and trouble-free access to such services is frequently lacking for our foreign labor, when injuries occur at work. I speak to
By Wahid Al Mamun, based on an interview in May 2017 Dipangka (not his real name) is of slight frame and voice. He shifts around gingerly on the plastic seat at TWC2's free meals programme. As I endeavour to coax the story of his injury out of him, I come to learn of a mutual misunderstanding
By Troy Lee, based on an interview in May 2017 On the Ministry of Manpower’s website, it is stated that most work injury claims take “3 to 6 months for most cases. Some injuries may need more time to stabilise before a doctor can assess for permanent incapacity.” However, many of the cases that come to
By Sun Hanchen Every day, tens of thousands of foreign workers begin their day in the wee hours of the morning. They are employed to do blue-collar work shunned by Singaporeans – construction, maintenance and transport amongst others – and are often treated as faceless economic factors. But they have families, and it is in
By Bill Poorman All he needs is some more time. Not forever. “One week, two week, three week,” Mollah Sharif Hossain says. Instead, he got only three days. Three days to save his life. It’s a Monday evening at TWC2's free meals programme. Just yesterday, Mollah Sharif and his co-worker, Rafique (who goes by one name),
By Sun Hanchen Hasan Kamroul was a marine trades worker, working at Benoi Shipyard. 7 December 2016 was supposed to be just another normal work night for him, but all changed several hours into his shift. Having been tasked to move some 26-inch pipes with two of his fellow workers, Kamroul set about doing his
