Once in four years, each member state of the United Nations is subject to peer review with respect to its human rights record. The Singapore government will appear before this process, known as Universal Periodic Review (UPR), in Geneva, in January 2016. In the lead-up to this process, the UN Office of the High Commissioner
Photo from Straits Times, Desmond Foo A fire destroyed a workers' dormitory in Choa Chu Kang on Thursday 11 June 2015. This was reported in the Straits Times the day after. The fire was extinguished within an hour, but three firefighters were hurt. The newspaper reported: The dormitory houses about 250 workers, but
TWC2's monthly outreach took place on 14 June 2015 at Boon Lay. Two social workers, three interns and eight volunteers participated. Led by social worker Louis Ong, they fanned out to distribute TWC2 flyers and speak to workers to introduce the ways we can help them. We stress that our services are provided free of
Today newspaper devoted a full page to our newly-released research report on weekly day off for domestic workers. Of the 195 respondents surveyed by the non-governmental organisation from July 2013 to October last year, only 41 per cent said they had four rest days each month. Close to a quarter said they got either one
Government legislation has helped improve foreign domestic workers’ access to compensation in lieu of a day off, but 59% of foreign domestic workers in Singapore still do not get a weekly day off. To mark International Domestic Workers’ Day (16 June 2015), Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) publishes a new report: ‘The Right to Rest:
2014 marked Transient Workers Count Too's tenth year. It was also a year in which the number of meals served at The Cuff Road Project (our food programme for destitute migrant workers) since its launch in 2008 crossed the 500,000 mark. For the first time, we were regularly able to shelter domestic workers who were desperate
In a blogpost, Manpower minister Lim Swee Say said "Between 2012 and 2014, more than 5,000 foreigners were barred from working in Singapore for life, for submitting forged academic certificates to obtain work passes. " The main point of the post was to explain how his ministry handles cases of treats forged degrees and those
Lum Wai Lui, 74, pleaded guilty to two charges on 13 May 2015 of abusing a domestic worker in the family home. She had slapped and poured bleach on Filipina Jonna Memeje Muegue, 25, as 'punishment'. The domestic worker had been accused of eating a salmon meal that was not meant for her. The Straits
For a payment of $3,000, Ahmead Rubel, 28, found a job for fellow Bangladeshi, Jabed, to work as a construction worker in Nanjing Minglu Construction Engineering Co. Ltd. For conducting employment agency activities without a valid employment agency licence, Rubel -- himself a construction worker -- was fined $40,000 in default four months' imprisonment, reported
Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say In response to a question by Member of Parliament Hri Kumar (PAP Bishan), the Minister for Manpower, Lim Swee Say, provided an oral answer in Parliament on 11 May 2015: The Employment Act (EA) protects both local and foreign workers against salary non-payment. Under the law, employers
