TWC2’s work and migrant worker issues as covered by the media
Jolovan Wham (right), writing in his personal capacity, sent an open letter to Tan Chuan-Jin, acting minister for Manpower on 7 January 2013. The opening paragraph references a defamation suit that the minister is threatening Vincent Wijeysingha of the Singapore Democratic Party with, over a previous Facebook post by the latter. Vincent was previously the
The above video shows an industrial building converted into a dormitory for Chinese, Indian and Bangladeshi workers. Each room houses about 40 men -- there are at least two rooms -- in extremely crammed and poorly ventilated conditions. The video also pans the shower and toilet facilities. It was produced by the website publichouse.sg and
A letter by TWC2 exco member Debbie Fordyce was published in the Straits Times 25 October 2012. She highlights the quite common problem of the government creating a bias against workers in favour of employers. Straits Times, 25 October 2012, Print Forum Foreign workers' medical dilemma Foreign workers often find themselves in a Catch-22 situation
The New Paper carried, on Saturday, 29 September 2012, the story of the emergency airlift home for Amin Late Abu Taher that took place two days earlier. This story is now archived on the AsiaOne site. Link. ----- "I hope to see my family" The New Paper, 29 September 2012, by Benson Ang For a
The Ministry of Manpower says only one percent of work injury claimants find themselves facing employers who did not have work injury insurance. Straits Times, Thurs, 30 Aug 2012. It also concedes that the vast majority of cases in which employers did not have work injury insurance were not prosecuted. No escape from the law
Straits Times reader Alex Tang, in a letter published by the newspaper in its print Forum (16 August 2012) asked a number of questions about workers placed on Special Passes because of "cheating" by employers. Queries on special-pass foreigners There are many foreigners who are holding special passes because they were cheated by their employers
In carefully couched language, the Sunday Times told the government that it's all very well to enhance penalties and add new offences to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, but unless there is enforcement, what difference will it make? Passing it will be the easy part. But the gap between principle and practice is wide.
The Straits Times' editorial of Saturday 18 August 2012 spoke up for the amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Noting that when employers get away with circumventing the rules and thus pay less than the true cost of hiring foreign workers, it is "at the expense of Singaporean job-seekers." The new laws, it
A full-page feature in the Sunday Times, 12 August 2012, on the plight of foreign workers was timed to precede the first reading of amendments to the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act in Parliament the Monday after. Much of the feature revolved around a study conducted by Transient Workers Count Too on payments and returns
The New Paper carried a double-page spread on three cases of workers needing cranioplasty. The main story was about Majibar Hakim whose employer "would not pay for the surgery" said the article, though the reporter added that this could not be verified with the employer directly. It also noted that "A spokesman for the Ministry
