By Nasreen Ramnath The steel beam fell away beneath his feet, and he was suddenly swinging like a pendulum in mid air. Holding on for dear life to a steel cable, he hung suspended 10 meters above a yawning pit. Terrified, he looked down and immediately shut his eyes to keep out the sight of
By Suresh Little did Bitdut Chandra know that he would have to endure a second crisis after the first. In March this year, the lanky 27-year-old from Dhaka seriously injured his right leg while at work. Six months on, he is still undergoing treatment at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and walks with a slight limp. His
At the end of a work shift, while waiting for the rest of the crew to assemble their things and board the company lorry, the driver had a brief word with Arif Hossain. He said he believed that Arif's employer had gone bankrupt, and suggested that Arif should check the status of his work permit.
By Lee Kah Ghim “I want more working.” Sitting with me is Nazmul Hossain, 27, a very fit young man raring to take on more jobs just so that he can feed his family of three back home in Bangladesh. “I want more working. I no money send back to family," he says of his
The general principle is this: When workers lose their jobs because their employer breached a rule or two and thus caused the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to revoke the work permits the employer had previously obtained, the ministry tries to be compassionate towards the workers. If they are required to stay on in Singapore to
By Benjamin Wong "Where do you sleep now?" It is but my first question, and it already pierces something in Mizanur’s heart. He begins to tear. I tell him to take his food, then come and talk to me. I observe him as he eats; in between mouthfuls of food, Mizanur pauses, like he has
By Danielle Hong Aiful spent a fitful night on 16 May 2012 trying to sleep. It wasn’t possible. Earlier in the day, a metal beam had fallen straight onto his back, leaving gashing wounds that would later require stitches and five consecutive trips to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The accident, which happened around 3 pm
Three months after he arrived in Singapore for his job, Amin Hajee Baten, 39, was filled with renewed hope. His agent, whom we shall call Mr E, had finally given him a specific address in Peninsula Plaza, which Amin assumed would be where he should report for work. At long last. Peninsula Plaza is an
The men were beginning to doze off in their post-lunch siesta, when a van-load of officers from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) arrived. Strangely, the officers didn't speak to any of them, said Chandan Sarkar, one of the 30 foreign workers on site, but went around taking pictures instead – of each man, the worksite,
By Xinlin This is Aminul's first time going to the Singapore Zoo and he has spent the night before tossing and turning in his bed. "I am very very happy," he says. "This is great opportunity." Aminul (pictured above) is normally introverted, does not talk much and often trails behind groups when walking. However, when
