Stories

13 12, 2016

By being obstructive over initial treatment, Hosen’s employer may end up paying more medical costs

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:36+08:00December 13th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By Nadira Mohd Iesham Except for the first day, Hosen Mobarak has had to fight to get medical treatment. He has not always succeeded. What began as a broken fingernail ended up requiring surgery -- which, from the sequence of events narrated to me, appears to be a consequence of the employer's obstructive tactics. As

9 12, 2016

Smart phones: status symbol and social divider

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:57+08:00December 9th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By Grigor Barseghyan Bangladesh is a country located in South Asia with a population of 156 million people. The capital city of Bangladesh is Dhaka. From the city and around is where lots of workers come to Singapore. They are not the ones at the bottom of Bangladesh society, they are the people who are more or

5 12, 2016

Cornered, Ahammed was told to “go back home”

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:57+08:00December 5th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By James Mah “Go back home”. Such remarks can be heard infrequently in Singapore, uttered by locals frustrated at the sight of migrant workers on public transport when buses and trains are jam-packed. Most of the time, these comments would be said from the stress of the moment, without any malicious intent. This was not the

1 12, 2016

The artist in Parthiban blooms amidst injury and loss of a hand

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:57+08:00December 1st, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By Katia Barthelemy Photos by Dipti Nagpaul-D'Souza, a journalist with The Indian Express One of the nice aspects of volunteering with TWC2 is the reward you feel contributing a bit to restoring migrant workers’ faith in Singapore. The tougher side is that more often than not, you are only confronted with real bad stories and cases. That makes

23 11, 2016

Sent to work illegally and caught by police

alex2019-08-30T16:31:58+08:00November 23rd, 2016|Articles, Stories|

"The police was at the gate of the shipyard that day, checking all workers arriving at work," Nagelli Mahendar Reddy tells TWC2. "I think someone had informed them that there were illegal workers." Unfortunately, Nagelli was one of the 'illegals'. He did not have a work permit. He and a few others from the same

18 11, 2016

Employer hired out his worker, then disclaimed responsibility for accident

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:58+08:00November 18th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By Sarah Tong Kashem was employed by one company but was sent to work for another, a scaffolding company. When he was injured, his employer took the position that the accident happened ‘off-site’, and so refused to pay for treatment. This is incorrect, but perhaps the boss didn't know the law. “Yah, he don’t know!”

9 11, 2016

Pay is many times better than in Bangladesh, but living conditions worse

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:58+08:00November 9th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By Poh De Sheng Farid is a Bangladeshi national who has had the uncommon experience of having worked at shipyards in both Bangladesh and Singapore. He was able to offer a comparison of the conditions workers face in Singapore vis-à-vis Bangladesh. Back in Bangladesh, Farid shared a house with six co-workers in the city of

5 11, 2016

Injured worker abandoned without food for two days

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:58+08:00November 5th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

Islam Saiful speaks with a volunteer while he takes his dinner at TWC2's Cuff Road Project By Yi Ning On 18 March 2016, Islam Saiful fell about three metres at his worksite, landing on his back and leaving him with agonizing pain. This was just the start of his problems. He was told that

31 10, 2016

Employer and agents quick to extract money, slow to provide injury compensation

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:58+08:00October 31st, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By Poh De Sheng Moorthy, an Indian national, is the sole breadwinner for his family, which consists of his wife, young daughter and parents. He came to Singapore a year and a half ago after being promised a basic salary of $429 per month by a local recruiter in India. However, what seemed like a

28 10, 2016

Muthamilselvan thought he’d be taken to hospital. Fat chance.

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:59+08:00October 28th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

By Vivek R It was a rainy day in Jurong Shipyard on Chinese New Year’s eve 2016. The worksite was particularly slippery as rain water coalesced with sand to turn the working grounds into slurry. But with the company falling behind on contract schedule, the work must go on. The day looked ominous but Muthamilselvan