Articles

12 11, 2013

While employer resists giving treatment and MOM acts slowly, TWC2 saves Afzal’s future

webmaster2019-08-30T16:34:16+08:00November 12th, 2013|Articles, Stories|

Afzal first came to the attention of Transient Workers Count Too on 22 March 2013, six days after being assaulted by a Thai worker wielding a beer bottle. Just looking at Afzal, you wouldn’t know that anything was seriously wrong. You'd spot a black eye, with a little blood in the white of the eye,

8 11, 2013

Good employer, but injured worker still wants to sue

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:34:16+08:00November 8th, 2013|Articles, Stories|

By Davina Tham When injured workers come to Transient Workers Count Too, the sorry tales they bring are usually about trying to get proper medical treatment and difficulty in getting reluctant employers to foot the bills as they should by law. Rarely is there someone like Lakshmanan Sasikumar, whose employer seems to have checked all

4 11, 2013

The rice miller

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:34:16+08:00November 4th, 2013|Articles, Stories|

By Shahnaz What does Mattaparthi Kumaraswamy have to show for the six years he has worked? Very little. When he goes back to India, he will have no savings, hardly any prospect of a job, yet there's an extended family to feed. Has he seen the sights of Singapore, gone shopping in Orchard, taken a holiday? The

30 10, 2013

Murugan loses left eye to a safety award

alex2019-08-30T16:34:16+08:00October 30th, 2013|Articles, Stories|

An incentive to promote work safety backfired on Boomi Murugan. He was not allowed to see a doctor immediately after an injury because, according to the worker, the assistant manager wanted to win the annual award. Murugan worked for a hydrojetting company. Although he had a face shield on, five tiny metal pellets ricochetted into

26 10, 2013

Ilo Ilo: parts of film don’t reflect life of a domestic worker

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:34:16+08:00October 26th, 2013|Articles, Our Stand, Stories|

By Marifel Mosquera Teresita (Terry) is the newly hired helper of Lim Family from the Province of Iloilo in the Philippines. Like most of the women who come to Singapore as domestic workers, she is looking to better her life and climb out of poverty. The film is about her relationship and struggle with one

23 10, 2013

Workers turn flash mob at Yale-NUS College

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:34:16+08:00October 23rd, 2013|Articles, Happenings|

By TK “The students had a blast!" said Professor Anju Mary Paul. "Their interactions with the workers both in Little India and today have fundamentally changed their views about migrant workers in Singapore.” Paul is from Yale-NUS College's Division of Social Sciences, and was speaking to TWC2 after the college hosted a visit by migrant

22 10, 2013

Caught doing illegal work — a lucky break for Ramachandran

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:34:16+08:00October 22nd, 2013|Articles, Stories|

By Benjamin Wong Arumugam Ramachandran first came to Singapore four years ago. For three years Ramachandran worked injury free, but seven months ago, during a routine construction job, Ramachandran injured his knee. At first, he was unwilling to report it, and tried to carry on working, hoping the pain would go away eventually. For the

19 10, 2013

‘The sweets were delicious’

alex2019-08-30T16:34:17+08:00October 19th, 2013|Articles, Stories|

Once in a while, Transient Workers Count Too succeeds in helping a worker get everything that is due to him. Not only is the worker happy, so are we. Deliriously. But there was a month in which everything looked very bleak for Hazrat (not his real name). His employer had submitted salary vouchers with forged

16 10, 2013

Thamil borrowed from legal assistant to survive

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:34:17+08:00October 16th, 2013|Articles, Stories|

By Max Ang The modern urban environment is a tough and unrelenting place where the simplest of needs is monetised. Money is needed in the exchange for basic necessities, such as food and shelter. Without it, one can starve amidst plenty. Such is the predicament of Perumal Thamilarasan. Two years into his job as a

14 10, 2013

Television’s a treat

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:34:17+08:00October 14th, 2013|Articles, Happenings|

By T K “Photo photo”, the men called out to the TWC2 volunteers to help take pictures, as they lined up beside the movie director, chests out, shoulders squared and faces to the lens. This was at the screening of "Television (2012)" by Bangladeshi film director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. The film was among several in the listing