The volunteering spirit was in full flow the weekend of 17 and 18 Sept at crUX. Over 20 IT professionals devoted part of their weekend (some of them all weekend), coming together to develop a new website for TWC2 pro-bono. Led by Wen Huang and Mohammed Pitolwala from Savant Degrees, the aim of the event was
Official policy is in the process of change. An inter-agency anti-trafficking task force was set up in November 2010, co-chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Manpower. Singapore says that it is now using the definition of trafficking in the anti-trafficking protocol (see Singapore falls short of international protocol) as the
There is a common idea that migrant workers are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in Singapore. When, in 2008, some residents in the Serangoon Gardens area expressed their opposition to a dormitory for migrant workers being set up in the neighbourhood, statements were made that it would be unsafe for children to travel
Foreign domestic workers (FDW) expressed high levels of satisfaction with working in Singapore, reported the Ministry of Manpower, based on a survey it conducted in 2010. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being 'extremely satisfied', about half of the FDWs indicated that they were "extremely satisfied" with working in Singapore. Similarly, employers
Singapore's Immigration Act specifies that persons overstaying their visas or equivalent permits are liable for judicial caning if they overstay by more than 90 days. There are exceptions pertaining to age. Women are also not caned. Unlawful entry or presence in Singapore 15. — (1) A person shall not remain in Singapore after the cancellation
Here are five reasons why the exploitation of low-wage migrant workers hurts Singaporeans' interests. Wages are depressed When employers get away with paying extremely low wages, or worse, promising low wages, but in actual fact paying even less than that through all sorts of illegal deductions, there is a general lowering of wage levels for
The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) compiled this shadow report on Singapore for presentation to the United Nations committee charged with overseeing the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Download this 2011 report (26 pages):
ST9 Pte Ltd was fined $50,000 for having more than 1,100 workers at three "dormitories" converted from factories at Woodlands Industrial Park. The men were housed in overcrowded conditions, reported to be at twice the occupant loads. 600 workers were found staying in parts of the buildings that had not been approved for housing. Sunhuan
Statement issued by representatives of 37 organisations meeting in Singapore (including TWC2) calls for regional support for a Domestic Workers' Convention when it comes to a decision at the International Labour Conference in June: Click here to download the statement For more details: http://www.mfasia.org/
The following is an extract from a journal written by a foreign domestic worker in Singapore. This is the third in a series. For their privacy, TWC2 has replaced names and removed references to dates and places. Only major spelling mistakes have been corrected; otherwise the text is what was written by them. In this
