TWC2 volunteers often come across cases where migrant workers are seized and detained by private security and repatriation agencies, on orders of their employers, for the purposes of quick repatriation to their home countries. This often occurs when a worker has lodged a complaint against his employer over salary arrears, or has been injured. Or
Questions and common defences for existing treatment of foreign domestic workers by their employers and TWC2's responses: 1. Don't most domestic workers agree to the conditions they work under? If a woman has signed a contract with the employer that says that she agrees to have no time off for two years, how can anyone
What are the main complaints made by foreign domestic workers? Complaints vary to some extent, according to nationality. A 2005 survey of 115 Indonesian domestic workers who had worked in Singapore found that more than two-thirds complained of limited access to information and communication with other people, not being allowed to go outside, not having
How many foreign domestic workers are there in Singapore? There were 201,000 female domestic workers in Singapore on Work Permits (end of 2010), as reported by the Ministry of Manpower. That made it about one for every five households in the country. In 2002, there were 140,000. Where do they come from? The majority, by
November 14, 2011 For immediate release Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) applauds Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-jin's personal involvement in raids conducted against substandard accommodation for foreign workers (Straits Times, 11 November 2011: Minister leads checks on workers’ dorms, by Kezia Toh), as a welcome sign of greater governmental attention to the issue
One location that was housing foreign workers was " abysmal" while the other was " over-crowded", wrote Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-jin on his Facebook wall after being with two raids on migrant worker quarters. Dated and clocked in the early hours of Thursday, November 10, 2011, the Facebook post said: Just returned
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There are many stories about migrant workers being housed worse than animals, in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. But it is hard to grasp how bad things can be without the visual image. With phone cameras becoming ubiquitous, these images are coming out. The first is a video first posted on The Online Citizen, showing utterly
In a follow-up story to that of November 4, the Straits Times reported Monday, November 7, 2011, that employers and recruitment agents are encouraging their foreign workers to apply for voluntary exclusion from the casinos before they arrive in Singapore, or as soon as they set foot here. Some employers are even making it a
This is a report published on China Labour Bulletin on February 10, 2011, compiled by Aris Chan. It calls on the Singapore government to abolish its employer-sponsored work visa policy, which gives employers excessive power and control over foreign workers --- Hired on Sufferance: China's migrant workers in Singapore There are an estimated 200,000 Chinese
