Shahadat borrows from an “NGO” to fund his recruitment fee, but at what cost?
To pay the agent fee for his job, Shahadat had to take a loan. We calculate the interest rate involved. We can barely believe our math.
17
11, 2020
14
11, 2020
Monzur the ‘liar’
Doctors have diagnosed from MRI, X-ray, a problem with Monzur's spine after a back injury. His boss insists that Monzur is lying, claims he has videos to prove it.
10
11, 2020
Sajalal and his shape-changing salary
What was Sajalal's salary? He couldn't be sure. We ask him to give us a history and it shines a light on some widespread employer practices.
31
10, 2020
Ferdous has had enough, wants to go home
Ferdous feels overwhelmed by problems: injury, unpaid salary, unrecovered recruitment fees, borrowing money to pay for treatment, delays due to Covid-19....
28
10, 2020
Invisible occupations: hotel housekeeping
Singapore's hotel industry is highly reliant on foreign workers too, though they're less visible than construction workers. Barathi gives us a little insight before he goes home.
20
10, 2020
“I don’t understand, I don’t know press one or two”
In Singapore, we rush to digitise many things, but forget that in the process, groups of already-disadvantaged people get left further behind.
14
10, 2020
From the murkiness, a señora emerges
How did Shahabuddin end up with a lawyer over his injury case when parties are not in dispute? A simple question leads to a bigger exploration.
10
10, 2020
$9,000 to help cousin get a job that pays $399 per month
Right before our noses, illegal job agents operate with impunity in Singapore itself, raking in loads of money. Employers offering jobs through these recruiters don't smell too clean either.
6
10, 2020
Kader’s girlfriend, wife and baby
Throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, Kader was almost continuously on the phone. Here's a glimpse of a migrant worker's use of technology.
3
10, 2020
Monzurul accumulates wealth — of English words
Over three jobs in Singapore, Monzurul got richer in his English vocabulary, not so much in the bank.