Articles

22 08, 2018

Work five months, fight salary case ten months

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:02+08:00August 22nd, 2018|Articles, Stories|

By Cheryl Lim, based on an interview in May 2018 With his jaw tightly clenched throughout our entire one-hour conversation, 41-year-old construction worker Rahman Habibur, repeatedly asks me, “Can you get back my money? You can help?” “We will try our best,” I reply. With his hand on the official court order he brought to

18 08, 2018

Sorowar goes home with new $35,000 ‘helmet’

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:02+08:00August 18th, 2018|Articles, Stories|

Before going home on 18 July 2018, Paik Sorowar went around to thank every volunteer and staff member of TWC2 who had helped him in any way big or small. He may see Transient Workers Count Too as the ones who gave him a brand new skull implant, but it's really the Lighthouse Club Singapore

14 08, 2018

Where the silver lining ends: Safiar’s hopes of avoiding further indebtedness thwarted by bureaucratic opacity

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:02+08:00August 14th, 2018|Articles, Stories|

By Alston Ng based on an interview in June 2018 According to a Bloomberg article (footnote 1) dated to Jan 2017, Singaporeans face the shortest unemployment period in the world, spending a median duration of merely two months before finding new jobs. No doubt, such a short transition period indicates market resilience and points to

10 08, 2018

Re attempts at salary reduction, MOM ties itself in knots

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:03+08:00August 10th, 2018|Articles, News, Our Stand, Stories|

Based on details collected from casework in May and June 2018 When Rahman Safiar went to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to get his Work Permit processed, he was in for a shock. It was not even two weeks after arriving in Singapore for a new job with a promised basic salary of $1,600 per

5 08, 2018

Unreported work injuries: more than a matter of statistics

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:03+08:00August 5th, 2018|Articles, News, Our Stand, Stories|

By Liang Lei, based on interviews in June 2018 It is common knowledge that timely diagnosis and treatment of injuries go a long way in minimizing pain and speeding up recovery. In Singapore, the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) seeks to enable that, by allowing employees injured at work to file claims for, amongst other

1 08, 2018

Policy brief 2018, no. 2: Require mandatory reporting of injuries to MOM by healthcare providers

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:31:03+08:00August 1st, 2018|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand|

In the second of four policy briefs for 2018, Transient Workers Count Too recommends that healthcare providers should have a duty to report to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) when a migrant worker is issued more than three days medical leave or is hospitalised for 24 hours or longer. This should be in addition to

29 07, 2018

89% of salary disputes arise from cash-payment employers, confirms MOM

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:03+08:00July 29th, 2018|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, News Flash|

In a parliamentary reply to a question by MP Melvin Yong, Manpower minister Josephine Teo said in July 2018 that only 11% of work permit holders lodging salary claims were paid electronically. (Scroll down for full reply). This factoid supports TWC2's urging that electronic payment of salaries should be made mandatory. In our Policy Brief

25 07, 2018

False hope, hesitant trust and bureaucratic complexities

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:03+08:00July 25th, 2018|Articles, Stories|

By Liang Lei, based on an interview in May 2018 Received unexpectedly dismal scores for an assessment? Appeal. Although this “survival tactic” for examinations seems to transcend cultures, the consequences can vary drastically from one situation to another. In the case of a foreign worker’s Permanent Incapacity Compensation score, a hasty decision to appeal may

21 07, 2018

Surgery not covered by insurance, says boss. Go back to India instead

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:03+08:00July 21st, 2018|Articles, Stories|

By Nicholas Lee based on an interview in May 2018 The crowd at TWC2's food programme grows as the hour for the breaking of the Ramadan fast approaches. Among the non-Muslims is Paranthaman Arulvendan, registering himself with TWC2 for the first time. But he's not new to Singapore. Arul has been working here since the

18 07, 2018

Bangladeshi workers’ perception of Singapore, choice of Singapore as work destination and journey here

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:31:03+08:00July 18th, 2018|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

Intern Roy Lim was with TWC2 from late April to early June 2018. Among his tasks were to complete a research project, a smallish one in view of the limited time and that fact that it had to be done single-handedly. The attached paper is his report. In his paper, he found that Bangladeshi workers