News and opinions in the public domain and TWC2’s response
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
"Migrant workers volunteer to clean Pasir Ris beach on Saturday" said the headline in the Straits Times, 17 October 2018. Indeed, that's what a large group of TWC2 clients did, led by Irene Ong and Marcel Bandur, joint leaders of our Discover Singapore team. This team organises activities for the workers under our care every
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
Following a story in the Straits Times (see earlier article) about a circular jointly issued by the Ministries of Health (MOH) and Manpower (MOM) reminding doctors about their ethical responsibility to issue appropriate medical leave, a hand surgeon affiliated with Gleneagles Hospital wrote to the newspaper's forum with his point of view. Dr Andrew Yam
On 17 September 2018, the Ministries of Health and Manpower jointly issued a circular to doctors reminding them to abide by guidelines laid out by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) with reference to medical leave. The relevant guidelines cited were the 2016 Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines (ECEG): Guideline B4(4) - Medical Certificates. The full circular
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
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
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
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
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
