Stories about workers’ experiences, the many ways our volunteers help, insights and facts that TWC2 have unearthed

8 04, 2019

Rights don’t mean squat without accessible avenues of redress

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00April 8th, 2019|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

The photo is of an illuminated billboard along Bukit Batok West Avenue 3. It seeks to inform workers of their employment rights, and is sponsored by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) the Central Provident Fund and TAFEP (Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices). The smaller words in the poster say: Get paid for

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1 04, 2019

MOM claims great effectiveness in a case when the facts point otherwise

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00April 1st, 2019|Articles, Stories|

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) responded to our 20 Feb 2019 article 'Rahman and employer agree to settle salary claim... then nothing happens' with a statement on their website. That statement amplifies their ability to help, and implicitly accuses the worker of not seeking help when help was (said to be) available. The worker's misery

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31 03, 2019

Global Compact for Migration: how far off its standards is Singapore?

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 31st, 2019|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand|

The United Nations' Global Compact for Migration (GCM) was adopted by a great majority of UN members on 10 December 2018 at a conference in Marrakech, Morocco. It was endorsed by the General Assembly on 19 December 2018, where 152 countries voted in favour. Five countries voted against -- the Czech Republic, Hungary,

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24 03, 2019

Forced repatriation still happens — Bala’s story

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 24th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

On this website, we used to carry a number of stories from workers who were lucky enough to escape forced repatriation. But that was several years ago. In the last 3 or 4 years, TWC2 received far fewer such cases. This reduction in cases could mean that attempts at forced repatriation declined, thus resulting

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20 03, 2019

How two bosses reacted to their workers filing salary claims

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 20th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

The same evening that volunteer Liang Lei was doing interviews for his story Why do injured workers flee company housing and do they feel safe enough to return?, two other workers came to TWC2 with housing-related woes. But their stories also shine a light on the way employers try to bully workers into submission. Borhan

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11 03, 2019

The Cuff Road Project 2018

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 11th, 2019|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

TWC2's Cuff Road Project (TCRP) serves the immediate needs of South Asian male migrant workers. Specifically, these are workers who are awaiting resolution of claims, complaints or investigations they've lodged with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and have no access to paid work from their employers due to injury or salary problems or

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5 03, 2019

Why we didn’t help one worker

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 5th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

While we try to help every foreign worker who comes to TWC2 with a problem, our volunteers are realistic enough to know that some workers are not blameless. In such a situation, we modulate the help that we extend. About a month ago, a guy -- let's call him Sham (not his real name)

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5 03, 2019

Why do injured workers flee company housing and do they feel safe enough to return?

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 5th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By Liang Lei, based on interviews conducted in Feb 2019 Home – a personal space. A fleeting sliver of timeless refuge after a long day of work. A safe haven. Does this hold true for foreign workers who have suffered work-related injuries? According to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), employers are obliged to guarantee proper

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