Stories

30 03, 2014

Gripped by two repatriation agents, Monjor is taken to airport

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:34+08:00March 30th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Joyce Wong Monjor's boss wanted him to accept a lower pay than previously agreed. He refused. Then repatriation agents came. Last month, testifying before the Committee of Inquiry looking into the Little India riots, Kevin Teoh of MOM's Foreign Manpower Management Division, said, as reported in Today newspaper: Asked about the framework in place

24 03, 2014

Nose healed, Rana ready to go back to work, but boss won’t have him

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:34+08:00March 24th, 2014|Articles, News, Our Stand, Stories|

By Woo Haoqi Instead of providing for his family, Rana Md Masud depends on his uncle for financial support. This uncle is also working in Singapore, but it doesn't change the fact that Rana is a burden to his family. Says Alex Au, TWC2 Vice president, “Rana represents one of those cases whom TWC2 feels

21 03, 2014

230 retail employees face jail

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:34+08:00March 21st, 2014|Articles, News, News Flash, Stories|

By Lucas Ho Selvam (not his real name) rests his head, heavy with worry, in his hand. "I very worry," he says. "So many nights I cannot sleep." He knows about a recent the report in the Straits Times: "22 Indian nationals charged for false declaration of salaries," ran the headline in the Straits Times

18 03, 2014

Who prospers in this salary saga?

webmaster2019-08-30T16:33:35+08:00March 18th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

Our recent article about workers from Woolim Plant Engineering & Construction Company explained how the Bangladeshi employees were underpaid for over a year before deciding to raise the issue, and how Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) assisted them in calculating their salaries and lodging a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). This is far

15 03, 2014

In the hours following an accident, the mischief starts

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:35+08:00March 15th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Keith W Hossain Jabed's story is one of long frustration. His accident happened more than one year ago, but his medical treatment has been suspended because his employer wouldn't pay, and now he is likely to be sent home without being properly cured. "I cannot turn head very much," he says, explaining his restricted

11 03, 2014

Dentists treat foot injuries, don’t they?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:35+08:00March 11th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Mayank Tripathi “Why should I go to a dentist for a broken foot?" exclaims a visibly weary Md Sultan Khan, when he begins telling me his story. About a year ago, Sultan, an employee of Sino Marine & Engineering, incurred an injury while at his workplace in Keppel shipyard. He was initially treated at

8 03, 2014

Through six years working here, Suman’s salary stayed much the same

alex2019-08-30T16:33:35+08:00March 8th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

Most times, when TWC2 volunteers interview workers, the conversation tends to focus on the immediate problem he or she faces, be it an injury needing proper medical attention, unpaid salaries, or a job scam. Suman Barman has an injury too, to his right thumb, but he was also a good case study of someone who

5 03, 2014

Owed $18,000 by boss, Arul told he should go home without collecting it

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:35+08:00March 5th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Jacintha Gopal Narayanasamy Arulmurugan (Arul) has in hand a formal order issued by a Labour Court ordering his employer to pay him $18,276.42 in owed salary. But he is facing the stark possibility that he’d soon be told by the Ministry of Manpower to buy his own ticket and go home to India without

2 03, 2014

Lawyer tells injured worker he can go home without waiting for WICA process to conclude

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:35+08:00March 2nd, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Sonia Pillai Quite early in the interview, Palani Srinivasan, 43, mentions that his lawyer has told him to go home after his third operation. “Let me do collection for you,” was what (according to Srinivasan) his lawyer said. TWC2 vice-president Alex Au, who is sitting beside me, thinks it rather strange. "His WICA process

27 02, 2014

Scammed worker given only six months to recover his $4,500 loss

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:33:35+08:00February 27th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Fuxiong Torikul's hoped-for second job in Singapore never materialised. Instead, he's $4,500 in the red, having paid this total sum to an 'agent' and the boss. Getting it back is going to be difficult. He borrowed this amount from his father-in-law, who mortgaged his small plot of farmland to raise the money for him.