Articles

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

10 08, 2015

Kickbacks are illegal, but how to eliminate them?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 10th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Seema Punwani You must spend money to make money. Even Forbes magazine propagates this theory and it has probably inspired several entrepreneurs. A worker living across the Indian Ocean in Bangladesh who has limited formal education and sparse knowledge of English has in all probability not come across this famous quote. However for him this is

6 08, 2015

In one of the richest cities of the world, the wages of toil

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 6th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Joanna Korycinska $6,500 is the amount Hossain Jahir paid upfront to secure a job in Singapore. It took him two and a half years to earn this amount back. Only then did his family begin to benefit from his working here. When he started on this job in March 2012, his pay was $16

2 08, 2015

Sivam’s saints

alex2019-08-30T16:32:25+08:00August 2nd, 2015|Articles, Stories|

On the evening of Thursday, 2 July 2015, Subbaiah Ramasivam flew home to Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, a very happy man. He was still slapping himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming it all. In his pocket were slightly over two thousand dollars, money that less than a week earlier, he thought he'd never see again.

1 08, 2015

TWC2 opens Day Space — to rest, learn, serve and grow

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:26+08:00August 1st, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Happenings|

As the organisation grows, having adequate space is always a challenge. In June 2015, an opportunity came up: the space above one of the restaurants where we serve our free meals under the Cuff Road Project became available. With rent at a very reasonable rate, TWC2 took it over for use as our Day Space.

28 07, 2015

Marine workers earn less than working at McDonald’s

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:26+08:00July 28th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

By William Chin I was told that working in the marine industry is a lucrative segment, which pays higher than an average job. Economics 101 teaches that jobs that are dangerous would pay more than an average job to draw applicants. That is until one evening, when I meet the trio of Uddin Mohin, Md

24 07, 2015

Elayaraja’s hopeful beginning… and bitter end

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:26+08:00July 24th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Ranjana Raghunathan “Oh you share your name with the wonderful Tamil music director,” I try to break the ice as he nods, unimpressed at my remark. Elayaraja is from Killaipichavaram, a village near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, India. He was earning about 10,000 Rupees per month (around $200) in India, from fishing. I ask

20 07, 2015

Little India: a surveillance landscape

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:32:27+08:00July 20th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

By Shona Loong Sandir’s story Standing together in Lembu Park Open Space (the ‘Minimart’), 32-year old Sandir points to a spot on the ground and reminisces. In 2008, on the first of three migration trips to Singapore, the Bangladeshi man was caught for littering here. He professes to remember it clearly: after chewing on some