Details are beginning to emerge about the accident that happened in the Bugis area on Wednesday, 18 July 2012. The two workers from mainland China who perished were reported to be have been under a mould into which wet concrete was being poured. They were there to check for leaks as the tons of concrete
UPDATE:As at 5 p.m. on Monday, 23 July 2012, total donations exceeded $23,000. DONATION WINDOW WILL CLOSE ON FRIDAY, 27 July 2012 at 23:59h. This should allow sufficient time for those interested to help to do so. As agreed with the lead initiator of this appeal, Benjamin Lee aka Mr Miyagi, should there be any
Two Chinese workers were killed and eight other migrant workers injured when scaffolding at the Bugis station worksite collapsed, deluging the two workers below with wet cement. The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries for workers in countries worldwide. Singapore is not exceptional in this respect. The rate of fatalities in this
It by no means applies to all migrants we talk to at TWC2, but anger simmers very close to the surface in some of the men we encounter. Not all. Most are unbelievably patient and humble while waiting for the slow, ponderous wheels of bureaucracy to turn. But Akkabar isn’t one of those men. I
There is a rising trend in work injury claims, reported the Straits Times on 16 July 2012. Figures from the Ministry of Manpower show that more people have been making injury claims through the Work Injury and Compensation Act (Wica) over the past three years. Last year, 12,768 claims were made, compared to 12,288 in
The four young volunteers shown above were with TWC2 social worker Kenneth Soh doing outreach to Chinese workers last Sunday. Chloe has been with the team for a while but the other three are new. It was at first a wet day, but by the afternoon, the sun had come out, and "it was hot
This is the first of six parts: The house in Pattukottai, Tamil Nadu, is unfinished, with reinforced steel bars poking out from the flat concrete roof. There are walls, ceiling, and floors of rough concrete, windows and doorways with frames, but no windows or doors, water or fixtures. It provides shelter from the elements but boasts
An undated posting in Facebook tells of a heartwarming encounter with Bangladeshi worker who was spending his lunch break helping a visually-impaired Singaporean get from the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped to a bus stop. The writer says there were others doing the same. The story, posted by someone who called himself 'Tim' had
"I no have money," said Hashem. "How to take bus?" "So you mean you didn't go to your hospital for your appointment?" I asked. "You must go. Otherwise, how are you going to get well?" "I go. I walk there." A quick estimation of the distance from the dinky hole that Hashem sleeps in, somewhere
In Parliament on Monday, 8 July 2012, Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-jin defended the current policy of requiring employers to provide medical insurance, so that such costs do not burden the local taxpayer. Otherwise, he said, "that would be unfair to society at large". "[T]he government has to ensure that foreign workers' medical
