Facts, research, analysis

25 08, 2017

Going cashless? Over half of work permit holders don’t have bank accounts

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:31+08:00August 25th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, News Flash, Our Stand|

Header of Yahoo News' article In early August 2017, it was reported in various media that public transport will be going cashless by 2020. By 2020, commuters travelling on Singapore’s transport system will no longer need to use cash or top up stored-value cards to pay for rides, said the Land Transport Authority

30 06, 2017

Straits Times reports on ‘gaps in Labour Court system’ and the plight of 5 Zach Engineering employees

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:32+08:00June 30th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Media Coverage, News, Our Stand|

Following the launch of TWC2's research report yesterday (see Labour protection for the vulnerable: challenges and recommendations), the Straits Times carried two stories Friday (30 June 2017) almost filling up all of page B4. Click to enlarge The newspaper noted that our research study found "significant obstacles and uneven enforcement" that prevent

29 06, 2017

Labour protection for the vulnerable: challenges and recommendations

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:32+08:00June 29th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Press Releases|

A new study released by Transient Workers Count Too on 29 June 2017 reveals challenges faced by low-wage migrant workers with unpaid salaries and workplace injuries in obtaining compensation and recourse. The study, conducted by researchers at the Singapore Management University (“SMU”) and Transient Workers Count Too (“TWC2”), reveals that significant numbers of workers face

20 05, 2017

Bangladeshi bank charges 10% interest per month

alex2019-08-30T16:31:33+08:00May 20th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

Street scene, Dhaka Rakib and Kanak don't know each other, but both come on the same day to Transient Workers Count Too with similar stories. The chief similarity was that they both had borrowed from Brac Bank whose branches and billboards can be seen all over Bangladesh. This bank is a major loan-maker

25 04, 2017

68% of construction workers work illegally long hours

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:33+08:00April 25th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand|

Over two-thirds (68%) of foreign construction workers work so much overtime that their total monthly overtime hours would breach the legal maximum of 72 overtime hours a month. Of these, one in three (23%) worked twelve and a half hours or more in a single day -- which also violates the legal daily maximum of 12

6 03, 2017

Foreign workforce numbers 2012 – 2016

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00March 6th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

For easy reference in future, we carry below the statistics relating to employed expatriates/workers for the years 2012 to 2016, extracted from the Ministry of Manpower website on 24 Feb 2017. Equivalent data for the years 2007 to 2012 can be seen at this page. Percentage-wise, these are the figures: The next table shows quite

24 02, 2017

One quarter of Labour Court salary orders unpaid

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00February 24th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, News Flash|

At the parliamentary sitting of 9 January 2017, Nominated Member of Parliament Kok Heng Leun posed a question to the Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say (pictured above). As published in the Hansard, Labour Court Orders on Employee Salary Non-payment Mr Kok Heng Leun asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many complaints about salary non-payment

5 02, 2017

Average recruitment cost hit $15,000 in 2015 for first-time Bangladeshi construction workers

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00February 5th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

After hearing anecdotal reports of 'agent fees' in the region of $17,000 or $18,000, Transient Workers Count Two carried out a pilot survey to determine if these were rare cases, or if recruitment costs have risen dramatically. An earlier research report published in 2012, Worse off for working? found that Bangladeshi workers needed to work

25 01, 2017

Was there no prosecution in 2016 for non-payment of salaries?

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00January 25th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

As 2016 came to a close, TWC2 trawled through the website of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to see what prosecutions have been listed there through the year. MOM issues press releases whenever an employer has been sentenced in court. TWC2 found twelve mentions in MOM's website through 2016. The list is shown further down. What

15 01, 2017

TWC2 survey: starting salaries for migrant workers flatlined for the last 10 years

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:35+08:00January 15th, 2017|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

Starting basic salaries for first-time workers from India and Bangladesh have remained more or less static since 2006, averaging slightly under Singapore dollars 600 per month. However, when adjusted for inflation, a downward trend is seen, and thus, in terms of Singapore purchasing power, average basic salaries have declined about 20% since 2006. The above