News and opinions in the public domain and TWC2’s response
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
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
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
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
Some employers are experimenting with public posters offering a reward to anyone who can help located a missing worker rather than turn to repatriation companies, reported the Straits Times, November 21, 2011. James Ng, a construction firm manager, is one of them, offering $2,000 as reward. Two of his workers had gone missing and with
Channel NewsAsia carried an eye-witness report of an employer handing over to the police a worker who had gone missing and was later caught presumably by private security agents. The employer Mr Ng told the reporter that employers are liable for missing workers, and they may face legal repercussions, if workers get into any accident,
Today newspaper carried the gist of TWC2's press release, pointing out that giving employers total freedom to terminate and repatriate migrant workers is the source of much exploitation. The newspaper's edition of November 15, 2011, also carried additional comments by TWC2 immediate past president John Gee, suggesting that employers wanting to effect early termination be
In a blogpost dated November 17, 2011, Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-jin, mentioned his recent visit to TWC2's frontline operations at Cuff Road. He wrote: Early this month (1 Nov), I visited the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC), a bipartite NGO set up by employers and unions, as well as the Cuff Road Project
The Yawning Bread blog has a story of a Chinese worker cheated of 27,000 yuan (approx S$ 5,400). Arriving here only to find that the job he was offered was non-existent, he was then wrongfully detained by repatriation agents who became menacing when he wanted to leave for the Ministry of Manpower to lodge a
Questions and common defences for existing treatment of foreign domestic workers by their employers and TWC2's responses: 1. Don't most domestic workers agree to the conditions they work under? If a woman has signed a contract with the employer that says that she agrees to have no time off for two years, how can anyone
