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15 04, 2012

Welcome to our private hell: 30 men, 4 beds

2019-08-30T16:36:03+08:00April 15th, 2012|Articles, Stories|

Last November, Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-jin involved himself personally in a raid conducted against substandard accommodation for foreign workers. In a Facebook post, the minister described the conditions he saw as “abysmal.” I visited Mohamed’s and Bilal's house before they were sent home to Bangladesh this week – they told me they were crammed there with

10 04, 2012

Berita Harian spotlights Mohd Khamsya

2019-08-30T16:36:03+08:00April 10th, 2012|Articles, Happenings|

Mohd Khamsya, one of Transient Workers Count Too's volunteers at our Cuff Road Project, was featured in Berita Harian on Monday, April 2, 2012. The Malay-language newspaper however, omitted mention of Sya's involvement with TWC2, though he had told the reporter about it. Below is an English translation of the news feature, translated for TWC2

7 04, 2012

Indonesian government changes maid hiring fee structure

2019-08-30T16:36:03+08:00April 7th, 2012|News, News Flash|

The term 'placement fees' will, after May 1, 2012, only include the cost of medical check-ups, document processing and charges by Indonesian training centres, unlike currently where the term includes fees by recruitment agencies and other middlemen. This change will mean lowering placement fees from about $3,000 currently to about $1,600 for first-time maids and

4 04, 2012

Injured worker goes home, loses 13 kg in 7 months

2019-08-30T16:36:04+08:00April 4th, 2012|Articles, Stories|

Asad is the man above. The picture on the left was taken in August 2011 before he left Singapore; even then he was slim, around 60 kg. The picture on the right was taken in March 2012, seven months later. He had lost 13 kg  and looked ten years older. While in Singapore, he was

2 04, 2012

Domestic workers: from lives of simplicity to complexity

2019-08-30T16:36:04+08:00April 2nd, 2012|Media Coverage, News|

The New Paper published a laudable background feature on domestic maids from the Philippines and Indonesia on Monday, March 26, 2012. In the three-page spread by lead writer Amanda Phua, the story described their pre-Singapore lives back in their villages where electricity is a luxury and modern household appliances unknown. It shows how hard the

28 03, 2012

Soap kitchen day

2019-08-30T16:36:04+08:00March 28th, 2012|Articles, Happenings|

A group from Paya Lebar Methodist Church came by to our soup kitchen at lunch on Saturday, March 24, 2012, to give out goodie bags stuffed full of useful things to the workers we serve. Things like soap, toothpaste and shavers may look like unglamourous and utilitarian items, but for workers left totally broke, they

28 03, 2012

Raising productivity needs direct intervention; lengthening maximum employment period too indirect

2019-08-30T16:36:04+08:00March 28th, 2012|News, Press Releases|

The Ministry of Manpower’s extension of the maximum period of employment of work permit holders from six to ten years is a move in the right direction (See http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=415). Like the ministry, Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) believes that improving the skill levels and productivity of foreign workers should be a key aim. This move,

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