News and opinions in the public domain and TWC2’s response
Nine worksite fatalities were recorded in the first month of 2014, reported the Straits Times (ST, 30 Jan 2014, Structure collapse kills one, injures 10 workers in Sentosa, by Yeo Sam Jo). The latest victim was a 36-year-old Chinese national working on a project on Sentosa. Ten others were injured Wednesday 29 January when the
Media Statement For immediate release 14 January 2014 On 13 January 2014, the Ministry of Manpower issued a media statement "Tripartite Guidelines on Issuance of Itemised Payslips". Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) have been highlighting for years the need to make itemised payslips mandatory, as an essential step in combating salary abuses, a common problem
Former president of Transient Workers Count Too, John Gee, spoke at the NUS Human Trafficking Conference on 10 January 2014. Others on the panel included Kandhavel Periyasamy (Joint Ops Director, Ministry of Manpower), Jolovan Wham (Workfair Singapore) and two students from Singapore Management University who recently did a project relating to trafficking. John's paper was titled: Migrants
The panel comprised (L-R) Braema Mathi (Maruah), Russell Heng (TWC2), Siew Kum Hong (Maruah/moderator), Jolovan Wham (Workfair) and Vincent Law (Healthserve) TWC2 president Russell Heng spoke for the organisation at a public forum 'Foreign workers, justice and fairness', organised by human rights group Maruah on 23 December 2013. To the 100-strong audience, in
A street in Little India. Photo: Reuters/Ajlazeera Aljazeera quoted TWC2 in its story dated 18 December 2013 on the Little India riot (Singapore soul searching follows migrant riot, by Tom Benner and Satish Cheney). It quoted TWC2 president Russell Heng saying: "We believe that chronic maltreatment and disempowerment can lead to a sense
Ambulance set ablaze. Photo: Straits Times A Chinese-language magazine Life Week carried a feature article (its headline, translated into English: A rare riot exploded in Singapore) about issues surrounding migrant workers in Singapore, in the wake of the riot that occurred on Sunday 8 December 2013. Translated into English, key passages include: "The
Ten days after the riot in Little India, the police and Home Affairs Ministry announced that 28 foreign nationals will be charged and 53 deported. The 28 workers charged so far were "active participants" in the riot who committed violent acts, damaged property, defied police orders or incited others to do so. Although the Attorney-General's
Straits Times Managing Editor Han Fook Kwang penned a longish op-ed in the Sunday Times of 15 December 2013. While written in the wake of the riot that occurred a week earlier in Little India, the essay addresses wider concerns, calling for a more layered understanding of the men and women who come here to
Below is the short talk TWC2 vice-president Alex Au (above, 2nd from left) gave at the Human Rights Day seminar organised by the Delegation of the European Union delegation to Singapore, 10 December 2013. The theme of the seminar was 'Contemporary perspectives on economic & social rights'. --- In the matter of employment, we would
Tamil workers enjoying a day off at a field near Race Course Road on a typical Sunday. Not one of them consuming alcohol. In the wake of last Sunday's small riot on Race Course Road at the southeastern corner of Little India, the government imposed a ban on the sale and consumption of
