Articles

29 07, 2014

After eight loyal years, fired when he fell ill, part 1

alex2019-08-30T16:33:28+08:00July 29th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

"So many years, I not sick," says Mollah Jahangir, 35. "One time have problem only, boss quickly want to send me home." This employer enjoyed loyalty from his worker for eight years, but showed none in return. Mollah Jahangir worked as a grass cutter and occasional water pipe fixer for CPK Contractor Pte Ltd, one

27 07, 2014

Volunteers ‘lightering’ up at Outreach

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:33:28+08:00July 27th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

We asked new volunteers who helped out at our July Outreach to contribute some reflection and feedback. Here is one: By Ying Zhen It was my first time participating in a TWC2 outreach activity. I was a little nervous at first because I did not know if I could do what was expected of me.

23 07, 2014

Falling 3 metres, Homun feels he’s a marked target, part 2

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:28+08:00July 23rd, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Elizabeth Zhou Continued from Part 1. That night, Homun went out for a walk to clear his head. And as it was with Kamal’s plot, someone was following him – once again, he was Indian. He recognized him as the building’s security. Would he be told he would be sent home as soon as

22 07, 2014

Direct Services Report for 2013

webmaster2019-08-30T16:33:29+08:00July 22nd, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

Periodically, Transient Workers Count Too produces a Direct Services Report, summarising the help we render to migrant workers. Help takes various forms, including advice through a toll-free helpline, intervention and case management, medical care, transit cards and of course the free meals programme in the Cuff Road Project. The report for the year 2013 can

20 07, 2014

Falling 3 metres, Homun feels he’s a marked target, part 1

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:29+08:00July 20th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Elizabeth Zhou Getting injured is a foreign worker’s greatest nightmare. Monday, 5 May 2014. The evening was humid. Sweat gathered on his forehead and trickled down his side-burns. Homun adjusted his helmet and readied himself for a bit more work. It was almost time to go home. Then he plunged three metres, and found

17 07, 2014

Singaporean concerned about workers with nowhere to sleep

alex2019-08-30T16:33:29+08:00July 17th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

The above photo came into TWC2's email box one day in June 2014. Taken around 7am and sent to us by a Singaporean resident in a block of apartments, it shows 25 - 30 foreign workers sleeping in a pavilion amid a housing estate. She told us that she was concerned about them. It didn't

14 07, 2014

Foreign worker levy and the release worker

webmaster2019-08-30T16:33:29+08:00July 14th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

Foreign worker levy rates have been rising in recent years and the trend continues through 2014 and 2015. The present rate for unskilled construction workers who are hired beyond the employer’s MYE (Man Year Entitlement) rose from $750 to $950/month in July 2014, and will reach to $1050/month in July 2015. The Straits Times quotes

11 07, 2014

Two domestic workers sexually assaulted, part 2

alex2019-08-30T16:33:29+08:00July 11th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

9:30am -- the phone rang. On the line was a TWC2 volunteer telling us about a Filipina domestic worker Mercedes (not her real name) who was crying for help in a shopping mall. We advised the volunteer to send Mercedes to our office as soon as the worker had calmed down. When she arrived at

8 07, 2014

One third of male migrant workers aren’t paid what they’re due

webmaster2019-08-30T16:33:29+08:00July 8th, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

About one in three migrant workers are not paid what they are due, a survey by Transient Workers Count Too has found. However, even as two-thirds think they are correctly paid, about half of them actually have no means to verify that that is so. Only one in three foreign workers can be sure that

6 07, 2014

Nights are for crying

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:29+08:00July 6th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Nissa Mai Asty attributes her improved quality of life to the new weekly day off law, which has opened up opportunities for her to develop valuable skills and connect with other Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore. But for the first six years of her employment here, she had no regular days off, nobody to