Facts, research, analysis

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

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

5 07, 2015

Section 22B of EFMA: a deficient law

alex2019-08-30T16:32:28+08:00July 5th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand|

The story "Cannot sleep.... I remember my wife's crying" described the injustice done to Bangladeshi worker Humaun. He came to Singapore for a promised job only to be told there was none for him. The job offer had been properly documented through an In-principle Approval for a Work Permit (IPA) from the Ministry of Manpower,

3 07, 2015

Kuwait revamps recruitment companies for domestic workers, raises workers’ rights

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:28+08:00July 3rd, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, News Flash|

Kuwait's legislature passed two new laws recently to improve the conditions of domestic workers. One of the laws sets up a new type of company for recruiting domestic workers to replace the private companies that currently recruit domestic helpers. The new type of company cannot take any payments from the recruited workers. According to a statement

1 07, 2015

Little India: a community landscape

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:32:28+08:00July 1st, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

By Shona Loong It is 7.30pm on a Sunday evening, and I am making my way through the heart of Little India. Although this route is familiar to me, everything looks different. Streets that are normally silent and empty are transformed by the presence of large numbers of migrant men chattering away in Bengali. A

17 06, 2015

Wage protection system in UAE and Qatar

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:29+08:00June 17th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

Our letter published in the Straits Times Forum on 17 June 2015 mentioned that countries in the Middle East have made it mandatory to pay workers' salaries through bank transfers when Singapore has not. This note provides a bit more detail about this point. UAE In the United Arab Emirates, which comprises Dubai, Abu Dhabi

16 06, 2015

TWC2 submits UPR shadow report to UN Human Rights

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:29+08:00June 16th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand|

Once in four years, each member state of the United Nations is subject to peer review with respect to its human rights record. The Singapore government will appear before this process, known as Universal Periodic Review (UPR), in Geneva, in January 2016. In the lead-up to this process, the UN Office of the High Commissioner

11 06, 2015

The Right to Rest: The effectiveness of the ‘day off’ legislation for foreign domestic workers

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:30+08:00June 11th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand, Press Releases|

Government legislation has helped improve foreign domestic workers’ access to compensation in lieu of a day off, but 59% of foreign domestic workers in Singapore still do not get a weekly day off. To mark International Domestic Workers’ Day (16 June 2015), Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) publishes a new report: ‘The Right to Rest:

29 05, 2015

Direct Services Report for 2014

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:31+08:00May 29th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Press Releases|

2014 marked Transient Workers Count Too's tenth year. It was also a year in which the number of meals served at The Cuff Road Project (our food programme for destitute migrant workers) since its launch in 2008 crossed the 500,000 mark. For the first time, we were regularly able to shelter domestic workers who were desperate

21 05, 2015

Just passing through

GuestContributor2019-08-30T16:32:31+08:00May 21st, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

By Kellynn Wee and Marusa Godina The Singapore passport is powerful. According to the international 2014 Visa Restrictions Index, this neat crimson document offers Singaporeans visa-free travel to 167 out of 219 countries in the world, making our passport sixth in the world in terms of global mobility. Singaporeans’ easy trips in and out of