This is the first of six parts: The house in Pattukottai, Tamil Nadu, is unfinished, with reinforced steel bars poking out from the flat concrete roof. There are walls, ceiling, and floors of rough concrete, windows and doorways with frames, but no windows or doors, water or fixtures. It provides shelter from the elements but boasts
"Look, my hand like this, cannot move," said Moriddul. His fingers could move, but he couldn't flex or rotate his wrist. "When did this happen?" your writer asked him. October 2011, he said. He was a "supplied worker", seconded by his boss to another contractor's construction site. On the fateful day, he was collecting tools
"I no have money," said Hashem. "How to take bus?" "So you mean you didn't go to your hospital for your appointment?" I asked. "You must go. Otherwise, how are you going to get well?" "I go. I walk there." A quick estimation of the distance from the dinky hole that Hashem sleeps in, somewhere
Commentary by Jamie Lin Weirong Humanitarian organisations such as TWC2 have long been advocating for the proper treatment of foreign workers in Singapore. The appeals against the abuse of foreign labour often revolve around notions of ‘justice’, ‘fairness’ and ‘dignity’, principles with an obvious enough value. Though these workers might not look like us or speak like
Following a serious road accident on 3 July 2012 in which one Indian worker was killed, former TWC2 president John Gee wrote a letter to The New Paper. It is reproduced below as published on 9 July 2012: --- Enclosed vehicles safer for workers The New Paper’s coverage of the accident on Tanah Merah Coast Road,
Everything was wrong about Majid's job except one thing: he was earning the kind of money he had hoped for, and he was being paid on time. Having invested about $4,400 in recruiting agent's fees to land the job in Singapore, now making $900 to $950 a month meant that he should be able to
‘If you are a media worker or a person whose work involves contact with the media, how do you deal with the issue of trafficking in an ethical way? Trafficking stories often involve such appalling conditions and events that they are real attention grabbers. They can appeal to those working with trafficked people as a
A 19-year-old worker from India was killed and 18 others injured after the lorry they were in was involved in a head-on collision with another lorry on Tuesday, 3 July 2012, reported the Straits Times. He had been working in Singapore for only five months. Mr Kathiravan and three others were flung out from the
A Ministry of Finance official wrote to the Forum pages of the Straits Times to say that about ten percent of Work Permit holders pad income tax in 2011. The short letter is given here in full: Work permit holders, such as domestic helpers, are generally semi-skilled or unskilled ('Provide figures on work permit holders
Until February this year Anis worked inside a large coal tanker; he would spend around 10 hours in its guts with five men for company, a power hose and the toxic fumes of anti-corrosive paint with which they coated the walls. Anis’ story isn’t unusual. As a plumber by trade, he was ecstatic to be
