By Nissa Mai “I will kill you ah!” She very angry, angry. She smack me four times. I say, “I'm a human, I'm sorry!” [Then], Amah show me the big knife. She say, “[If] you argue, I cut you with the big knife.” That's when Surya (not her real name) ran away for the first
Rahman Md Jaminur found himself at the bottom of a drain, severe pain shooting from his right ankle. His back also hurt. Fortunately, his phone was within reach and he called his friend. Help, I fell. Two co-workers came running. They carried him to the construction site office where the safety supervisor was. The latter said,
By Meera Rajah “Why Singapore?” – Ishwar Singh and Pardeep Kumar appear slightly perplexed as to how to answer this direct question, somewhat aware of the vague implications surrounding it. Ishwar (above, right) has now been in Singapore for five years. Pardeep (above left) has been here for slightly longer. Having arrived in 2007, this
By Fuxiong Many stories on this website have documented the difficulties workers face in the period following a work accident. Denial of medical treatment, efforts by employers to repatriate them against their will, or attempts to deny that the accident even occurred (thus foreclosing any chance of compensation for the resulting permanent incapacity) are common
By Keith Wong "Twenty months," says Kabil Monul (not his real name). That's how long it has been since an industrial accident caused a dislocation of his left shoulder. Only today (in August 2014) has he received an offer from the Ministry of Manpower for compensation for permanent incapacity: a mere two "points", which translates
By Fuxiong The banana was meant to be eaten, but in telling me his story, Shamsuddoha was waving it and hitting the table with it. It was soon bruised. He was too agitated to eat, particularly when he recounted the moment when he confronted his site manager. "Then who is responsible if accident happening during
By Nissa Mai The flight from Singapore to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, wasn't long — just under two hours — but for Margarette, the journey represented a whole new beginning, a fresh take on life. After years of domestic labor, she was finally going to begin her career in the hospitality line. Margarette, a Filipina national,
By Stéphanie Psarski This testimony is a very good and heart warming example of how, to workers, Transient Workers Count Too makes a difference even in the tiniest thing. Injured on his back in July 2012, Kamal Mostafa has been waiting in Singapore for his case to be settled by MOM for two years. Not
By Isabel Chew “Before I always think Singaporean very good but today I see I cannot take it lah. Because salary don’t give.” As I wrap up my interview with Latif, the morose Bangladeshi worker shares with me his feelings about the seemingly hopeless situation. He has not been paid in three months, and is
A large group of workers from Genius Engineering approached TWC2 for help over salary non-payment. Volunteer Meera Rajah meets two of them. By Meera Rajah “Next week… next week… wait”, Rafiqul and Hossain are now – unfortunately – accustomed to this unvarying refrain. It has been three months and four days since they last received
