By Eugene Teo Many migrant workers see working in Singapore as a breadwinning opportunity, but is it really? Uddin Mohi, 23, will probably tell you there are huge risks. Uddin worked at a painting and plastering company, S.A.E. & C (S) Pte Ltd, from April 2015 till November 2015. Of the eight months that he spent
By Mark Lamb Thursday, 5 May 2016. "An emergency" whisks through the room where we're convening to discuss communication plans for Transient Workers Count Too. My barometer perks up but it is no time for self-interest as this appears to be a serious matter and one of immediate urgency. In a calm but pressing voice,
By Eugene Teo On the evening of 19 October 2015, Huq Md Mynul showed up at our free meals programme. He was running a fever and had all the signs of chicken pox over his face and body. But he was also homeless. Transient Workers Count Too immediately put him into our emergency shelter. This
By Keani Vonge "Nine lakh fifty thousand," is what Hassan Raqibul says when we at TWC2 ask him how much he paid for the job in Singapore. That converts to S$16,400. About half of Hassan's total fee went to a training centre -- construction workers must acquire a skills certificate before they can get a
By Lee Zi Xin “I have nothing to do every day”, says Ahmmad, as he speaks to me about the long wait for closure of his injury compensation claim. It's been four months since the accident, and he has been out of work since. His relationship with his boss has deteriorated and his former workmates appear
By Kan Ren Jie I ask Lutfor Rahman how he is, and I am struck by his frank answer: ‘I now very bad. Now no job, makan got problem.’ While Rahman initially appears cheerful when I sit down and talk with him at TWC2's free meals programme, laughing at some of our jokes about girlfriends,
By Shona Mac It is a busy Monday evening at Transient Workers Count Too's Cuff Road Project and there is a throng of men queuing to receive a meal and milling around chatting to the team of volunteers. Abdus Salam is patiently waiting to speak to his TWC2 case worker who is currently busy with
By Jiang Haolie There was so much blood that even the bath towel wrapped around Mahbubul’s half-severed wrist was soaked. His ulnar vein was crudely ripped by a metal sheet as Mahbubul lost his footing and fell. “I cannot even talk”, Mahbubul says, recounting the immense pain he experienced, and gesturing to indicate how tears streamed
By Gek Han On paper, Ali Noman, 40, was employed for about five months. His work permit was issued by construction company Sun Demolition Pte Ltd last July. In reality, Ali was given neither work not wages. “Friend say no work. Company say no work,” Ali says not with anger, but helplessness. He had been
By Zoe Lin As Islam Rezaul turned on his mobile phone to show me photos of his injury, I couldn’t help but gasp in shock at the sight of them. There was a stab wound about the size of a 50-cent coin and a long line of stitches that ran through the side of his body. I
