From nearly a million migrant workers, here are some of their experiences

16 07, 2012

Boomi’s African odyssey, part 1

2019-08-30T16:36:02+08:00July 16th, 2012|Articles, Stories, Uncategorized|

This is the first of six parts: The house in Pattukottai, Tamil Nadu, is unfinished, with reinforced steel bars poking out from the flat concrete roof. There are walls, ceiling, and floors of rough concrete, windows and doorways with frames, but no windows or doors, water or fixtures. It provides shelter from the elements but boasts

15 07, 2012

Plank gave way under his feet, while worker was 25 metres above ground, part 1

2019-08-30T16:36:02+08:00July 15th, 2012|Articles, Stories, Uncategorized|

"Look, my hand like this, cannot move," said Moriddul. His fingers could move, but he couldn't flex or rotate his wrist. "When did this happen?" your writer asked him. October 2011, he said. He was a "supplied worker", seconded by his boss to another contractor's construction site. On the fateful day, he was collecting tools

10 07, 2012

Ball retrievers sent out of bounds

2019-08-30T16:36:02+08:00July 10th, 2012|Articles, Stories, Uncategorized|

Everything was wrong about Majid's job except one thing: he was earning the kind of money he had hoped for, and he was being paid on time. Having invested about $4,400 in recruiting agent's fees to land the job in Singapore, now making $900 to $950 a month meant that he should be able to

8 05, 2012

Johir’s going home, minus one good hand

2019-08-30T16:36:03+08:00May 8th, 2012|Articles, Stories|

His left hand is now a stiff claw; it's not going to help him earn a living ever again. He is only 26 years old, according to his passport. Fifteen months ago, on January 9, 2011, Johir was at work on a construction site switching or attaching some parts to what he called "the mouth"

23 04, 2012

Money-minting paradise

2019-08-30T16:36:03+08:00April 23rd, 2012|Articles, Stories|

Vikram (not his real name) came to Transient Workers Count Too regarding an injury for which his boss was reluctant to provide proper medical care. But that's not what this story is about. Just to make sure that at least other aspects of his working life were in order, we asked about the regularity of

19 04, 2012

Bad news day at galvanising factory

2019-08-30T16:36:03+08:00April 19th, 2012|Articles, Stories|

In Mohamed and Bilal have gone is the story of two of 56 men laid off because their employer reportedly failed to pay the government's foreign worker levy. When so many workers are affected, several groups of men come to Transient Workers Count Too at different times. They end up speaking to different volunteers. So it was

17 04, 2012

Cat on velvet

2019-08-30T16:36:03+08:00April 17th, 2012|Articles, Stories|

This senior gentleman is scrutinising the back of Debbie Fordyce's name card. He's probably wondering: What exactly does this woman do? What mischief does she get up to? Meanwhile, she's seated less than two metres away, smiling politely, but silent as a cat on velvet – as the saying goes. The back of the card

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