Stories

10 05, 2019

Transfer was a sham, settlement agreement was dubious, only the paddyfield was real

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:43+08:00May 10th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By Yasha S based on an interview in January 2019 For 47-year old labourer Motaleb Abdul, seeking justice for what he is owed seems like a never-ending game of disappointment. Despite having a salary settlement agreement drawn by Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), he has yet to be paid by his Singaporean boss

6 05, 2019

Ask the insurance company

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:43+08:00May 6th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

Most injured workers who seek help from TWC2 have engaged a law firm to assist with their injury claim. Although legal assistance is not necessary for the no-fault work injury compensation (WIC) process at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), many workers feel more secure having an injury lawyer. Perhaps the worker is unsure

28 04, 2019

Employer unafraid of workers taking salary claims to the authorities

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:43+08:00April 28th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By L. Narasimhan based on an interview in March 2019 "I wander around the city, going from place to place trying to find a new job," says Sukhwinder Singh, when I ask him what he has been doing for the past three months. "I wake up in my apartment, eat at Gurudwara [temple], and then go

24 04, 2019

Rubel started work with Feiteng1x without knowing his salary — how did that happen?

webmaster2020-03-10T17:37:34+08:00April 24th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By Liang lei based on an interview in February 2019 When a foreign worker arrives in Singapore, he would have a letter titled In-Principle Approval for a Work Permit (IPA) from Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), stating his personal details, employer and salary, amongst other details. The IPA letter has proven invaluable in guarding foreign

20 04, 2019

Having signed and thumbprinted his salary payment vouchers, Senthilkumar faced an uphill task proving his claim

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00April 20th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

Senthilkumar's salary claim didn't end well for him. It went all the way to the Employment Claims Tribunal which found against him on 1 March 2019. In a nutshell, his claim was that the payment vouchers he was asked to sign (and add his thumbprint to) had amounts that didn't match the cash

16 04, 2019

Seven months, thirteen extensions, no progress

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00April 16th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By Avijit B, based on an interview in March 2019 Gafur has had a turbulent time since the day he arrived in Singapore. In the space of seven months, he went from the hope of steady work abroad to the frustration of being stuck without work and pay. Borrowing money from relatives to pay for

8 04, 2019

Rights don’t mean squat without accessible avenues of redress

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00April 8th, 2019|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

The photo is of an illuminated billboard along Bukit Batok West Avenue 3. It seeks to inform workers of their employment rights, and is sponsored by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) the Central Provident Fund and TAFEP (Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices). The smaller words in the poster say: Get paid for

3 04, 2019

Despite accident and filing an injury claim, Ayub stays in his job

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00April 3rd, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By Darrell Foo, based on an interview in November 2018 Jennah Ayub Hossain registered at our Cuff Road Project in September 2018, but even so, he didn't often come to get his free meals. On one of the few occasions when he showed up, I seize the opportunity to ask him why. "Very far coming,"

1 04, 2019

MOM claims great effectiveness in a case when the facts point otherwise

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00April 1st, 2019|Articles, Stories|

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) responded to our 20 Feb 2019 article 'Rahman and employer agree to settle salary claim... then nothing happens' with a statement on their website. That statement amplifies their ability to help, and implicitly accuses the worker of not seeking help when help was (said to be) available. The worker's misery

24 03, 2019

Forced repatriation still happens — Bala’s story

webmaster2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 24th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

On this website, we used to carry a number of stories from workers who were lucky enough to escape forced repatriation. But that was several years ago. In the last 3 or 4 years, TWC2 received far fewer such cases. This reduction in cases could mean that attempts at forced repatriation declined, thus resulting