By Suresh Mohammad Nazrul Asadur Rahman shows me his newly-minted Special Pass. It was issued just earlier today. But he has endured three months of hardship to get it. And it's not over yet: his boss refuses to hand back his passport. A lanky 40-year old from Bangladesh, Nazrul is highly skilled in welding and

By Danielle The second doctor told Rafiqul he needed an X-ray. But "I no money for X-ray," he reports to TWC2, and when he asked his company for a referral letter, "the company say I cannot have letter." He eventually had to find the money to pay for it himself. It took a week. Meanwhile,

"I go back after two day," says Samiul, evidently happy that he'll be seeing his family again within 48 hours. Well, then, a quick debrief has to be done to see how his case ended. His debrief turns out to be a pleasant surprise because he then gives us a story that shows how things

“We’re not supposed to swim,” says Ana, a domestic worker. “I'm not sure why. I think it’s maybe because they think we’re dirty.” In the block where Ana lives, domestic workers can’t book a barbecue on their own, they can’t form groups and they can’t sit and eat beside the playgrounds where they look after

By Chow Zhi Ying “Every time I ask for MC money, company say later, later, later...” Shah Newaz recounts. 'MC money' is the monthly wage that companies should pay workers who are on medical leave, as mandated by the Work Injury Compensation Act, which also provides a set formula. His story at first sounded like

By late May 2012, Jakir Hossain (above), Dilip and their workmates had not been paid for three months. When Dilip heard that his father in India had fallen ill, he pleaded with his boss for his backpay. He needed to send money to the family back home, he told his boss. Recalls Jakir: "Boss tell

By Benjamin Wong Dipangkar sits awkwardly, his back upright, not leaning against the back of the chair. As I interview him, senior volunteer Alex Au picks up on a subtle difference in Dipangkar's English. "What did you study?" Alex asks. "I have a Bachelor of Social Science in Bangladesh," Dipangkar replies. But conditions are not

By Lee Kah Ghim “I see helmet throw at worker, supervisor kick worker. Every fault supervisor also hit.” Sanjit Debuath tells me. “One time supervisor ask worker go outside, supervisor hit him. Worker call police then next day worker sent back to Bangladesh.” During the fourteen months he worked at a Korean construction company --

Shah Alam hopes to go home soon. It's better than staying on in Singapore, sleeping on the streets. "Now raining season, got big problem for me," he says. "Even at night not raining, floor also wet." To wash himself each day, he depends on the kindness of a restaurant owner in Little India. "Over

By Benjamin Wong Ilias Mir Anisur (above left) and Badal Barai (right)  are part of the third group of workers from the same company, Lian Shing Construction Co Pte Ltd, to approach TWC2 for help. Despite so many workers lodging complaints with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) over a 12-month period, the company is still