Articles

18 09, 2015

Injured workers hit face-on with doctor and housing issues

alex2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00September 18th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

Medical treatment and housing -- two issues that workers, after an injury, find themselves grappling with. They shouldn't have to, and it is troubling to any outside observer that soon after an injury, perhaps still in pain with mobility difficulties, anyone should find himself with these additional complications. For a little insight as to how and why these

12 09, 2015

The ‘stupid boy’ with an ipad

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00September 12th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Elizabeth Zhou Sagor Mohammad and Abu Bakar (pictured above) are Bangladeshi nationals working as construction workers in Singapore. Not their first time here, both work permit holders are seasoned and familiar non-citizens[1] of Singapore with a close and allied network of friends and “family” -- relationships they have forged and accrued over the years.

8 09, 2015

The day an employer came to us for help

alex2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00September 8th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

By Alex Au One afternoon late March 2015, an employer came to Transient Workers Count Too to see if we could help him. "He was almost in tears," said my colleague Russell Heng who devoted more than half an hour lending him a sympathetic ear. He was a contractor with over a hundred workers, but he

4 09, 2015

Surviving on borrowed money and three shirts

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00September 4th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Daniel Ling “Driver put all my baju (clothes) in bag, tell me, ‘Boss say, tomorrow go Bangladesh for two month. [If] you no go, boss work permit cutting’”. Hossen Murad, 26, was still recovering from a serious workplace injury. Amid mounting medical bills here, his employer had sought to pressure him into returning to

1 09, 2015

Accused of salary non payment, employer gets inventive. MOM sees through it

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00September 1st, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Keith Wong Hossain feels vindicated. He came out of a meeting at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday with a 'settlement paper' signed by his employer in which is stated that he will be paid his salary arrears no later than a week from now. The amount of approximately $5,700 is also more or less

28 08, 2015

Shipyard work is not for dreams

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 28th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Joanna Korycinska $6,500 is the amount Hossain Jakir (above, right) paid upfront to secure a job in Singapore. It took him two and a half years to recover this 'investment' before he started earning anything he could send home. With the median wage in Singapore this year at $3,770, it is very difficult for

24 08, 2015

Little India: a learning landscape

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 24th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

By Shona Loong It is a sunny Saturday morning, and I am having a coffee with Jamail—a 32-year old Bangladeshi migrant—in a kopitiam on Veerasamy Road. As we talk, I can sense the uncle at the next table sneaking glances at us. Surely this is a curious sight: there are other Singaporean women and Bangladeshi

20 08, 2015

Can’t fault the employer, yet there is a trust deficit

alex2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 20th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

When workers first approach TWC2 for help, an experienced volunteer would run through a checklist of questions with him. We do this because even though workers are quite able to describe the particular problem they need help with, they may not realise that there are other issues that require attention. For example, a worker who has

17 08, 2015

Four men, picked at random, speak of low pay and hardship, part 2

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 17th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

Continued from Part 1: By Rabin Kok I am happy for Ishaq. However, Nitai Chandra Sarker, my next interviewee, reminds me that many workers are far less lucky. Nitai does not sport a smile – only a blank, wistful look. Like Islam, he too paid 400,000 takas (about S$7,000) just to secure a job in

14 08, 2015

Four men, picked at random, speak of low pay and hardship, part 1

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 14th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

Rabin is a new volunteer doing his first interviews. At his first volunteering session, he was not expected to go for an in-depth story. Instead he was tasked to do quick interviews with a random pick of workers in order to gain a broad familiarity with the issues and the kind of broken English migrant