Facts, research, analysis

12 05, 2015

Poor deals over meals: uncovering regulatory, attitudinal and social shortcomings

alex2019-08-30T16:32:32+08:00May 12th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

By Alex Au The above photo was taken around 11:30 am at a void deck below a block of flats. It shows packets of lunch on a broken chair. There were roadworks going on nearby and these packets were almost surely lunch for the crew. What's not in the photo was a Town Council cleaner

6 03, 2015

88 percent of our 2014 spending was on charitable activities

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:53+08:00March 6th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, News Flash|

In 2014, about 88 percent of TWC2's spending went towards charitable activities, benefitting our clients in a relatively direct way. Total expenditure in the year was $463,025, leaving us with a surplus of $108,203 from the year's income of $571,228. About 94 percent of this income came from voluntary donations, with much of the balance

9 02, 2015

Korea’s regulatory system for migrant workers offers many features worth emulating

alex2019-08-30T16:32:54+08:00February 9th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

When an employer in South Korea needs to fill a position with a foreign worker, he has to apply to the central government's Job Center. This state body will provide the employer with three shortlisted workers and the employer has to choose from among them. When Kim Misun, executive director of We Friends, an NGO

10 01, 2015

Months after initial complaints to ministry, housing and salary abuses still surfacing

alex2019-08-30T16:32:54+08:00January 10th, 2015|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

We didn't at first plan to write up their story because it was a story we've heard countless times before -- not that their plight was any less distressful for them. The men from Harri Construction complained of unpaid salaries, losing their jobs, and terrible conditions at their quarters. But two months later, the Straits

4 12, 2014

Allow injured workers waiting for compensation to work, e.g. in services sector

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:56+08:00December 4th, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Media Coverage, News, Our Stand|

Here's is an op-ed by TWC2's John Gee that was published in the Straits Times on Wednesday 3 December 2014: A win-win way to help injured foreign workers By John Gee. Straits Times, 3 December 2014 The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is considering outsourcing the inspection of workplaces to counter the illegal employment of foreign

6 11, 2014

What plagues the migrant worker

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:58+08:00November 6th, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

This paper by Meera Rajah, a young volunteer helping out with case documentation and follow-up, provides a good summary of the issues that migrant workers commonly face. It is however, not just a descriptive summary, but delves into the reasons why things are as they are, putting the finger on the inequality of bargaining power.

2 11, 2014

Singapore second most popular destination for Bangladeshi workers in 2013

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:59+08:00November 2nd, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

TWC2 has received two research reports from the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit which is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They make for sober reading. In one of them, titled Labour migration from Bangladesh 2013 report, some interesting statistics are provided. Singapore was the second most popular destination country in 2013, with 60,057 work migrants

1 11, 2014

Construction workers will be able to switch to new jobs at end of work permit period

alex2019-08-30T16:32:59+08:00November 1st, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, News Flash, Our Stand|

Buried within an announcement about a new minimum percentage of higher-skilled workers in construction firms, the Ministry of Manpower also announced that work permit construction workers will be able to move to new jobs at the end of their work permit periods without first having to go home. This new policy will take effect from

25 10, 2014

How the migrant worker system is regulated counts for a lot

webmaster2019-08-30T16:33:00+08:00October 25th, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Happenings, News, Our Stand|

This is the talk TWC2 vice-president Alex Au gave at the National University of Singapore to a large class (about 300 - 400) of students from various faculties on 15 October 2014. The text here is a somewhat fuller version of the talk itself, which wasn't entirely read from script, and which was constrained by

16 10, 2014

Are workers’ troubles due to ignorance or to harsh realities that leave them vulnerable?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:00+08:00October 16th, 2014|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

By Elizabeth Zhou The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recently printed colourful flyers in four languages – English, Chinese, Bengali and Tamil. Meant to reassure and educate the migrant worker community of the procedures and processes in place to take care of their rights, these flyers paint an image of a benign and helpful ministry, one