Articles

24 06, 2014

Migrant workers in Qatar – a personal perspective, part 2

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:30+08:00June 24th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

Jennifer and Steve Parenteau lived in Qatar for six years before coming to Singapore last year. This is Part Two of their three-part story about migrant workers in Qatar. In Part One they profiled the stories of some of the workers they met. Here in Part Two, is a general story of conditions in Doha, living

21 06, 2014

Migrant workers in Qatar – a personal perspective, part 1

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00June 21st, 2014|Articles, Stories|

What's it like to live and work in Doha as a migrant worker? Jennifer and Steve Parenteau lived in Doha for six years, not as migrant workers but as expats, with some of the privileges such a life affords. As Jennifer says, "We were allowed to walk on the Corniche (the wharf) any time we

18 06, 2014

Frustrating time as Badal waits for ministry to look into salary deductions

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00June 18th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Nguyen Minh Quan Unlike injury cases, workers' complaints about salary and deductions usually don’t take more than a few months. However, Bangladeshi national Badal, 34, has been in limbo for ten months. His case probably won’t be settled soon. The longer the process is, the more difficult it will be to collect evidence from

15 06, 2014

Worker’s ‘five points’ flutters to court

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00June 15th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Joyce Wong He signed and accepted the five points awarded through the injury assessment and is waiting for the payout to go home. But on checking his case status via MOM's website, he is surprised to learn he is scheduled for a pre-hearing conference. “So what did your lawyer and MOM officer say about

11 06, 2014

Every year, Mofazzel asked to pay for his job

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00June 11th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Elizabeth Zhou To trust is to place your vote of confidence in a person or organization, to believe in its reliability, and to be led to feel certain that s/he would honour an agreement. Bangladeshi national, Mofazzel Ukil Late Royjaddin Ukil, is no naïve rookie. But he thought he could trust his employer, ICII

9 06, 2014

Two domestic workers sexually assaulted, part 1

alex2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00June 9th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

The first hint was in the Phnom Penh Post: that Transient Workers Count Too was helping a domestic worker from Cambodia who said a member of the employer's family had sexually molested her. It's a relatively new pilot programme: bringing in domestic workers from Cambodia, and naturally there are many parties interested in watching how

9 06, 2014

Memorandum on required training for construction sector workers

webmaster2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00June 9th, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand|

By John Gee In 2011, when looking into the costs Bangladeshis face in coming to work in Singapore’s construction industry, one of the expenses about which the research team asked workers was that of training. They quickly discovered that, though the workers had to pay significant amounts to training centres to gain skills that would qualify them to

6 06, 2014

As painful as the accident, breaking the news to family

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00June 6th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Nguyen Minh Quan “Mother must die”, says Muthu Chetty Murugesan when he shows me his injured left eye. What he means is his mother will be devastated when she learns that her son has lost an eye. He hasn't yet told anyone back home about the injury. "My country no one know," he says,

31 05, 2014

“In Bangladesh, we don’t live like this”

alex2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00May 31st, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

"Don't tell people address," says Kamal (not his real name). "I promise I won't," your writer assures him, honoured to be trusted enough by him and his room-mates to be shown the hovel where they live. We both know that this is illegal accommodation for foreign workers. But when workers are injured and in conflict

29 05, 2014

We’ve served half a million meals

webmaster2019-08-30T16:33:31+08:00May 29th, 2014|Articles, Happenings|

Transient Workers Count Too has served half a million meals since our Cuff Road Project began in 2008. The milestone was celebrated on Monday 28 April 2014 with a boisterous lucky draw and contest. Nonetheless, reflecting on its significance, TWC2 president Russell Heng suggests the event deserves mixed feelings: "Half a million -- while we