More of here, less of there: increase in repeat workers and fat profits for the underground job broker in Singapore
The recruitment landscape for non-domestic Work Permit holders has changed dramatically in just a few short years. About 80% of these workers are ‘repeat workers’ i.e. they have had a job here before their current ones. This is a big change from only four years ago when we found a slight majority on their first...
Global Compact for Migration: how far off its standards is Singapore?
The United Nations’ Global Compact for Migration (GCM) was adopted by a great majority of UN members on 10 December 2018 at a conference in Marrakech, Morocco. It was endorsed by the General Assembly on 19 December 2018, where 152 countries voted in favour. Five countries voted against — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Poland, and...
TWC2 comments on proposed amendments to WICA
In January 2019, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) sought public feedback on some proposed amendments to the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA). As TWC2 sees over a thousand cases a year of work injury among foreign workers, this matter is germane to our work. MOM’s proposals centre chiefly around these themes: 1. Medical leave wages...
Officials to clamp down on fake salary vouchers, but will it work?
The news site TodayOnline reported that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) “plans to clamp down on employers who abuse salary vouchers — such as by having employees indicate receipt of their wages before they are paid.” The news story was dated 26 November 2018 (Link). On the face of it, this sounds like progress. It’s...
Policy brief 2018, no. 4: Free up labour mobility, do more to retain skills and experience
In the fourth of our policy briefs for 2018, Transient Workers Count Too recommends that foreign workers should be free to change employer without needing to get the permission of the existing employer. There should also be a clearer time frame for workers to get new jobs should their existing employers terminate their Work Permits...
Policy brief 2018, no. 3: Require standard employment contracts
In the third of our policy briefs for 2018, Transient Workers Count Too recommends that it should be mandatory for work permit holders to first sign a Standard Employment Contract (SEC) even before a work permit application is made. The SEC should set out all the key employment terms, and these should be in accordance...
Re attempts at salary reduction, MOM ties itself in knots
Based on details collected from casework in May and June 2018 When Rahman Safiar went to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to get his Work Permit processed, he was in for a shock. It was not even two weeks after arriving in Singapore for a new job with a promised basic salary of $1,600 per...
Unreported work injuries: more than a matter of statistics
By Liang Lei, based on interviews in June 2018 It is common knowledge that timely diagnosis and treatment of injuries go a long way in minimizing pain and speeding up recovery. In Singapore, the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) seeks to enable that, by allowing employees injured at work to file claims for, amongst other...
Policy brief 2018, no. 2: Require mandatory reporting of injuries to MOM by healthcare providers
In the second of four policy briefs for 2018, Transient Workers Count Too recommends that healthcare providers should have a duty to report to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) when a migrant worker is issued more than three days medical leave or is hospitalised for 24 hours or longer. This should be in addition to...
MOM jealously guards their non-transparency, yet slams us for not knowing why they do what they do
On 20 July 2018, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) posted a note on Facebook (Link) saying they wished to refute two claims that we made in the article Jaynal lost hs case at ECT; was the tribunal’s decision sound? which can be found at this link. This is our response to MOM’s statement (“refutations”) First of...
