News – Page 53

6 12, 2011

Settling-in Programme to replace English language test in mid-2012 for foreign domestic workers

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00December 6th, 2011|News, News Flash|

Starting in mid-2012, foreign workers taking on domestic work in Singapore will have to undergo a course known as the Settling-in Programme (SIP), announced Minister of State for Manpower, Tan Chuan-jin. The ministry's press release on this matter can be found here. The SIP will incorporate the existing Safety Awareness Course, but will include new

6 12, 2011

Finding love in a foreign land

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00December 6th, 2011|Media Coverage, News|

The above was the headline for a feature story carried in the Sunday Times, 4 December 2011, about romantic relationships between foreign workers in Singapore. The newspaper's reporters trawled Lucky Plaza and Little India over two Sundays and reported that "foreign men and women holding hands were a common sight." Taking up a full page,

1 12, 2011

Jailing bosses who ill-treat foreign workers is good, but do more to help the victims

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00December 1st, 2011|News, Press Releases|

December 1, 2011 For immediate release Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) welcomes the sentencing guidelines laid out by Justice V K Rajah in his written decision issued last week in Lee Chiang Theng vs Public Prosecutor. Justice Rajah said that "employers who persistently fail to discharge their legal responsibilities towards foreign workers will ordinarily have

1 12, 2011

Four week prison sentence an inadequate penalty — Russell Heng

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00December 1st, 2011|News, Our Stand|

In response to Straits Times' editorial following remarks by Justice V K Rajah dismissing the appeal of Lee Chiang Theng who had mistreated over 600 migrant workers, TWC2 president Russell Heng sent this letter to the newspaper editors on November 30, 2011: --- Dear Straits Times, I welcome your editorial remarks on abusive employers of

1 12, 2011

MOM ‘belittles’ foreign workers, says Jolovan Wham on TOC

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00December 1st, 2011|Media Coverage, News|

In a commentary published by socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), Jolovan Wham criticised the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) ineffectual moves with respect to abuses committed by repatriation companies. Link to article. It is not clear however, whether Wham was writing in his personal capacity or as Executive Director of HOME (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration

1 12, 2011

New bank scheme for Indonesian maids

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00December 1st, 2011|News, News Flash|

The Indonesian government is launching a scheme to help Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore with salaries during their first few months here. The scheme, known as People Business Credit for Indonesian Migrant Workers, will be managed by Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and overseen by the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Indonesia, said Mr Fahmi

29 11, 2011

Straits Times editorial: Hit these labour abusers hard

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00November 29th, 2011|Media Coverage, News|

The Straits Times carried an editorial on November 29, 2011, following the Court of Appeal's decision in the case of Lee Chiang Theng vs Public Prosecutor, as reported here (Judge: Bosses who ill-treat workers will go to jail).. This is the editorial in full: Hit these labour abusers hard MIGRANT workers performing hard labour in

28 11, 2011

Judge: Bosses who ill-treat foreign workers will go to jail

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00November 28th, 2011|News, News Flash|

Dismissing an appeal against a jail sentence imposed by a District Court, Judge of Appeal Justice V K Rajah said that employers who fail to pay their foreign workers on time or house them in acceptable quarters can expect to spend time in jail. Lee Chiang Theng now has to serve his four-week jail sentence

27 11, 2011

Many workers ‘missing’ because repatriation agents sent after them

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:25+08:00November 27th, 2011|News, Our Stand|

Letter to the Editor, Straits Times November 21, 2011 The article "Wanted Posters for Missing Foreign Workers" mentions workers who disappear just before the expiry of their work permit, suggesting that they would prefer to remain in Singapore to work illegally. It's too simplistic to assume that every report of a missing worker means a

21 11, 2011

Average of 20 workers go missing each month

webmaster2019-08-30T16:36:26+08:00November 21st, 2011|News, News Flash|

Straits Times, November 21, 2011 : Fewer than 250 foreign workers went missing each year between 2008 and last year, which worked out to an average of about 20 workers a month. Most were eventually found and repatriated, said a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman, who added that not all the employers' security deposits were