Protected: Baseline report for Singapore’s signing of Global Compact on Migration
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30
11, 2018
27
11, 2018
Officials to clamp down on fake salary vouchers, but will it work?
The news site TodayOnline reported that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) "plans to clamp down on employers who abuse salary vouchers — such as by having employees indicate receipt of their wages before they are paid." The news story was dated 26 November 2018 (Link). On the face of it, this sounds like progress. It's
26
11, 2018
Costs of low-waged labour migration: Difficulties, implications and recommendations
Unlike other studies that tend to be more focussed on a particular issue, e.g. recruitment costs or access to healthcare, this study takes a more inclusive approach, to look at the various costs of migration, as surfaced by migrant workers themselves in face-to-face interviews. It therefore reveals issues that may be missed by other studies,
22
11, 2018
Recruitment cost in some cases about 20 times monthly salary
In this article "$" represents the Singapore Dollar unless we specifically say otherwise, e.g."US$". It's been some time since we last wrote about recruitment costs. It's not a topic we should lose sight of. No progress is being made on this front, and high costs remain the chief reason why migrant workers cannot exert their
19
11, 2018
Sweaty, busy night at our roadshow
Seven volunteers from TWC2 manned our stall at a migrant worker roadshow on Sunday, 18 December 2018. The humidity was high and everyone was sweaty, more so when workers crowded around our stand, but it was well worth it. We must have given out hundreds of fliers -- maybe a thousand -- all in their
12
11, 2018
Letters in Straits Times forum re light duties
Following a story in the Straits Times (see earlier article) about a circular jointly issued by the Ministries of Health (MOH) and Manpower (MOM) reminding doctors about their ethical responsibility to issue appropriate medical leave, a hand surgeon affiliated with Gleneagles Hospital wrote to the newspaper's forum with his point of view. Dr Andrew Yam
12
11, 2018
Ministries of Health and Manpower issue circular re medical leave. Again.
On 17 September 2018, the Ministries of Health and Manpower jointly issued a circular to doctors reminding them to abide by guidelines laid out by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) with reference to medical leave. The relevant guidelines cited were the 2016 Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines (ECEG): Guideline B4(4) - Medical Certificates. The full circular
5
11, 2018
Transfer jobs for salary claimants and a minister’s bureaucratese
For several months in late 2017 and early 2018, we puzzled over a statement by the then-Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say that in the first half of 2017, only about 600 of foreign workers with salary claims indicated that they wished to find new employment (see footnote 1). We felt that 600 was an
8
10, 2018
Arrivals and change in vocation of Bangladeshi workers
After 2015, new arrivals of first-time Bangladeshi workers appear to have fallen off quite dramatically -- this was the main finding of a study done in August and September 2018. Interviews were conducted with 106 Bangladeshi workers and each was asked the year of his first arrival in Singapore. We found unusually few who first
26
09, 2018
Toes are cheap
Polash is well-dressed and carries himself with self-assurance. He's been a responsible son for ten years, working in Singapore supporting his parents, brother and sister in Bangladesh. But now he's in limbo, waiting for his injury compensation claim to conclude. Your writer looks at him more closely, but cannot tell where he's been injured. "Three