By Samantha Ege On 14 November 2014, Sarker Babu Sukanto should have been preparing to spend the night in hospital. Moments earlier, he had suffered a fall while at a working site in Kallang. The accident left him with severe pain across his right shoulder, down his back and around his leg. He recalls that in
By Kimberley Cham Four days. That is how long Humaun has before he goes back to Bangladesh. Back to his family, his wife, 9-month old son Tanjime, father, mother and 22-year old brother. Yet when Humaun reaches home, he does not return from a fruitful time in Singapore. Instead, he brings back heartbreak and gloom.
By Chang Ya Lan At eight in the morning, Md Golam Kibria Rokon Uddin Molla would already have arrived at the construction site, dressed in his construction attire, ready for a hard day’s work. The company that he worked for was in the business of structural construction work – in other words, laying the foundation for
By Polly Perdereau “I WANT, I WANT!” These were Supinah’s defiant words to her husband when he objected to her going back to Singapore to work. She had stayed put in Java, Indonesia, for two years to take care of their only child. Despite her husband’s strong opposition, Supinah’s decision prevailed. Little did she know that
By Samantha Ege Information is what opens the door to knowing our rights, exploring our options and making conscious decisions. Yet, information is something that we do not always have. In the absence of information, our rights can seem invalidated, our options unclear and our decisions not so concrete. In the absence of information, we
By William Chin The laws are there and the processes are supposed to be in place to help employees who have been injured at work. Saiful's story however, gives a glimpse of the hoops that migrant workers have to jump through and the price they pay. On 3 December 2013, Saiful Islam Lokman Hossain sustained
By Sabrina Tay Cowering in severe pain, Shafiqul lay on the floor of his cell and dialled ‘999’. The police and the ambulance arrived shortly. At the same time, the doors to Shafiqul’s cell unlocked as if by themselves and the guards assigned to watch over him miraculously vanished. Shafiqul was taken to the National
By Ranjana Raghunathan Vadivelan asks me nervously, “Can I trust these [TWC2 volunteers] people? They asked if I was willing to tell you my story, and I just shared everything with you. But I do not know what will happen. Will I get into more trouble if I share my story? I am entangled in
By Polly Perdereau “Working very good, accident no good”. This, in his own words, is Sabuj’s sad realisation about life after an injury. Sikder Sabuj started working in Singapore three years ago. He is from Bangladesh. According to him, he had to shell out $9,000 in "agent money" to be able to come here to
By Sabrina Tay Amid the buzz of TWC2's free meals programme, Kamrol Sarker lays out his documents asking what they mean. There are papers showing medical leave and his work injury claim. TWC2 treasurer Alex Au patiently explains to him what each is for and what it says. His explanation sort of confirms what Kamrol
