"I go back after two day," says Samiul, evidently happy that he'll be seeing his family again within 48 hours. Well, then, a quick debrief has to be done to see how his case ended. His debrief turns out to be a pleasant surprise because he then gives us a story that shows how things
The Cuff Road Food Programme is Transient Workers Count Too’s signature project. Not only does it address a critical need among workers who have been abandoned and left destitute, it offers an important contact point between the organisation and those in need of help. Workers not only get a hot meal, they get a consultation
The Cuff Road Project (TCRP) has provided more than 360,000 meals to migrant workers since it began in March 2008. The eligibility criterion for admission into the meal programme is that a worker must be out of a job due to injury, dispute with his employer or similar reason. They are no longer permitted to
“We’re not supposed to swim,” says Ana, a domestic worker. “I'm not sure why. I think it’s maybe because they think we’re dirty.” In the block where Ana lives, domestic workers can’t book a barbecue on their own, they can’t form groups and they can’t sit and eat beside the playgrounds where they look after
By Chow Zhi Ying “Every time I ask for MC money, company say later, later, later...” Shah Newaz recounts. 'MC money' is the monthly wage that companies should pay workers who are on medical leave, as mandated by the Work Injury Compensation Act, which also provides a set formula. His story at first sounded like
By late May 2012, Jakir Hossain (above), Dilip and their workmates had not been paid for three months. When Dilip heard that his father in India had fallen ill, he pleaded with his boss for his backpay. He needed to send money to the family back home, he told his boss. Recalls Jakir: "Boss tell
By Benjamin Wong Dipangkar sits awkwardly, his back upright, not leaning against the back of the chair. As I interview him, senior volunteer Alex Au picks up on a subtle difference in Dipangkar's English. "What did you study?" Alex asks. "I have a Bachelor of Social Science in Bangladesh," Dipangkar replies. But conditions are not
By Lee Kah Ghim “I see helmet throw at worker, supervisor kick worker. Every fault supervisor also hit.” Sanjit Debuath tells me. “One time supervisor ask worker go outside, supervisor hit him. Worker call police then next day worker sent back to Bangladesh.” During the fourteen months he worked at a Korean construction company --
Channel NewsAsia (reported) on 28 January 2013 that seven employers were convicted for failure to give foreign workers acceptable housing in 2012. In total, 1,062 employers were warned or fined in 2012 for providing foreign workers with poor accommodation, the news report said. Since only seven were "convicted", it appears that the "fined" were perhaps
Shah Alam hopes to go home soon. It's better than staying on in Singapore, sleeping on the streets. "Now raining season, got big problem for me," he says. "Even at night not raining, floor also wet." To wash himself each day, he depends on the kindness of a restaurant owner in Little India. "Over
