An essay based on a talk given by Alex Au at a Labour Day webinar organised by Maruah in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic that badly affected migrant workers in Singapore.
By Liang Lei, based on interviews conducted in Feb 2019 Home – a personal space. A fleeting sliver of timeless refuge after a long day of work. A safe haven. Does this hold true for foreign workers who have suffered work-related injuries? According to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), employers are obliged to guarantee proper
"The police was at the gate of the shipyard that day, checking all workers arriving at work," Nagelli Mahendar Reddy tells TWC2. "I think someone had informed them that there were illegal workers." Unfortunately, Nagelli was one of the 'illegals'. He did not have a work permit. He and a few others from the same
A joint research by Dr Sallie Yea and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) reveals that trafficked fishermen face insurmountable barriers to access legal and economic justice and protection. These barriers are caused by the following factors: significant gaps in measures for victim identification, a lack of coordinated support for the psycho-social needs and well-being of
By Seema Punwani Shahidulla Md Anser Ali knew the safety rules. The job needed four men so that there would be enough eyes to watch the delicate operation from multiple angles. He was assigned only two. He tried to explain to his superior the importance of adhering to safety protocols especially as the main contractor
By Seema Punwani Continued from part 1. When truth wins, you hear drum rolls. You do mental cartwheels. Your faith in justice is restored. And you heave a sigh of relief that after all the obstacles and the insurmountable tension, you emerged victorious. Because truth prevailed. As Part 1 explained, Shahidulla Md Anser Ali was
Continued from part 2. Soon after his acquittal on the first of three charges, Shahidulla got another shock. His key witness, crane operator Hassan, was called up by the case officer at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for an interview, and the next thing Shahidulla's lawyer heard was that Hassan had become a prosecution witness
Kamal gingerly opened a window, hoping it wouldn't make a noise. Heart pounding, he stepped out, trying not to look down. He was twelve floors up Block 601 Jurong West. With certain death should he miss a step, he made his way to the ground, never before so careful in his life. Hailing a taxi,
By Jas Kaur Abu Younus Mohammad is no novice to work in Singapore. So why is it that a man who has experience and in fact, skills, is sitting here with no job? Younus has held three jobs in Singapore. Firstly, he did a painting job for two years, for which he had paid a
By Samantha Ege On 14 November 2014, Sarker Babu Sukanto should have been preparing to spend the night in hospital. Moments earlier, he had suffered a fall while at a working site in Kallang. The accident left him with severe pain across his right shoulder, down his back and around his leg. He recalls that in