Our Stand

13 03, 2017

TWC2 and HOME submit joint shadow report on Bangladesh re Migrant Worker Convention

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00March 13th, 2017|Media Coverage, News, Our Stand|

Transient Workers Count Too and the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) submitted a joint shadow report to the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW) on Bangladesh. It was submitted via the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. This

26 02, 2017

Harri boss finally sent to jail for salary and housing abuses

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00February 26th, 2017|Articles, News, News Flash, Our Stand, Stories|

In an encouraging development, the prosecutor in a recent case made the argument that using the threat of dismissal and repatriation to compel foreign workers to accept lower wages would constitute an offence. According to a news story in Today newspaper, Nallusamy Narayanan, the boss of a number of companies under the Harri name, had

14 02, 2017

Employers should purchase more insurance, salutary lesson shows

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00February 14th, 2017|Articles, News, Our Stand, Stories|

We'll call the worker 'Byoghu' in this story. He had worked before in Singapore and quite successfully. But when he returned for a second job, he soon fell ill. In the first two weeks on the job, he had a fever and was given medical leave. The employer decided to cancel his Work Permit on

24 01, 2017

Straits Times: Gap in law to protect workers

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:35+08:00January 24th, 2017|Media Coverage, News, Our Stand|

Journalist Toh Yong Chuan had a short op-ed on page 2 of the Straits Times 24 Jan 2017 following his two reports of workers who could not collect on their Labour Court awards. See these stories on Islam Rafiqul and Sujan Ahmed. He argued that it was important to plug the gap in the law,

23 01, 2017

Worker unable to collect injury compensation; MOM says he must be “realistic”

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:35+08:00January 23rd, 2017|Articles, Media Coverage, News, Our Stand, Stories|

Just like Islam Rafiqul's case which was told in the Straits Times last week, Sujan Ahmed too is unable to collect the Labour Court award he has been given. Sujan's employer is simply refusing to pay up and the Ministry of Manpower suggested that he should apply to the State Courts for a Writ of Seizure

4 01, 2017

Foreign cleaners’ pay should match local cleaners’

webmaster2024-01-06T16:21:30+08:00January 4th, 2017|Media Coverage, News, Our Stand|

Following news that accelerated pay increases for cleaner will be implemented, but only for local employees, Transient Workers Count Too wrote to the Straits Times. On 16 December 2016, our letter was published. Consider raising pay of foreign cleaners, too Foreign visitors often comment on how clean Singapore is, perhaps not appreciating that there is

26 12, 2016

MOM’s Labour Court skirted with enforcing an illegal ‘contract’

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:35+08:00December 26th, 2016|Articles, News, Our Stand, Stories|

Volunteers at TWC2 were alarmed to hear from Sohel Rana, in mid July 2016, that the Assistant Commissioner of Labour presiding over his Labour Court case might be planning to rule in a manner contrary to written law. It would seriously undermine his claim and set an extremely bad precedent. Md Sohel Rana's case had

31 10, 2016

The price of a job

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:59+08:00October 31st, 2016|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, News, Our Stand|

TWC2's latest research takes a detailed look at recruitment costs borne by female domestic workers in Singapore. Based on a survey of 232 workers conducted in early 2016, the study reveals how much they paid, to whom, and how many months' of salary deductions these payments represented. It also gathered their opinions as to

17 09, 2016

A note to students

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:59+08:00September 17th, 2016|News, Our Stand|

TWC2 receives numerous requests from students embarking on project work, or fulfilling other school requirements. While we are pleased that students are keen to find out more about migrant workers and to devise projects to make positive changes in their lives, we find that students often approach TWC2 with preconceived assumptions about the problems that

12 09, 2016

The name of the devil is process: how regulatory process creates and sustains the disempowerment and injustices faced by migrant labour

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:00+08:00September 12th, 2016|Articles, Happenings, News, Our Stand|

For a few years now, Transient Workers Count Too has been asked to give a talk to journalists gathered at the annual Asia Journalism Fellowship. The following videos are adapted from the talk that Alex Au gave on 8 September 2016. There were about 20 journalists in TWC2's Dayspace, from various Asian countries, Pakistan to