Manuel, Roland and Isidoro had waited 13 months and 15 days for the opportunity. At last, after bobbing about the Pacific and Indian Oceans, never seeing land, the fishing trawler they were on sailed into Singapore. It was their chance to quit and collect their salaries. They had not been paid. They went to the
Singapore's Immigration Act specifies that persons overstaying their visas or equivalent permits are liable for judicial caning if they overstay by more than 90 days. There are exceptions pertaining to age. Women are also not caned. Unlawful entry or presence in Singapore 15. — (1) A person shall not remain in Singapore after the cancellation
For months, Hafeez suffered in silence. His employer had deducted S$500 a month from his already pathetic wage of $22 a day working as a forklift driver and general labourer at a glass supply firm. Do a simple calculation: If he worked 30 days a month at $22 a day, he would have made only
The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) compiled this shadow report on Singapore for presentation to the United Nations committee charged with overseeing the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Download this 2011 report (26 pages):
Over the years, TWC2 has collected some figures relating to the issue of a weekly day off for domestic workers. --- Sunday Times, 28/7/2002: 'Most foreign maids happy working here' Dawn Wong and Lee Hui Chieh "More than half Filipinas interviewed had every Sunday off, and a handful, public holidays as well. Again, this was
One of the commonest reasons given by employers for not giving a day off to the domestic workers employed by them is “I might lose my security bond.” They say that their FDW (Foreign Domestic Worker) might run away or get pregnant, which would cause that to happen. On June 25, 2011, ‘Today’ published a
Foreign domestic workers in Singapore work an average of 14 hours per day, and only 12% have at least one day off per week. Employers who give their foreign domestic worker (FDW) a day off tend to couch it in terms of employment rights while those who do not give their maids a day off
TWC2 has worked with others to oppose trafficking since 2006. From our first involvement with this issue, we thought that it was vital for Singapore to change its official view of what trafficking is if it was to be countered effectively. The article below, from the March-April 2009 TWC2 Newsletter, was a response to questions
The following is an extract from a journal written by a foreign domestic worker in Singapore. This is the third in a series. For their privacy, TWC2 has replaced names and removed references to dates and places. Only major spelling mistakes have been corrected; otherwise the text is what was written by them. In this
The following is an extract from a journal written by a foreign domestic worker in Singapore. This is the second in a series. For their privacy, TWC2 has replaced names and removed references to dates and places. Only major spelling mistakes have been corrected; otherwise the text is what was written by them. In this
