Among the many things in workers' wallets, we occasionally see a two-tone green card with a Bangladeshi logo. Heidi investigates what this card is.
Next screening: 5 January 2020 at 2pm. Part of proceeds to benefit TWC2
In this article "$" represents the Singapore Dollar unless we specifically say otherwise, e.g."US$". It's been some time since we last wrote about recruitment costs. It's not a topic we should lose sight of. No progress is being made on this front, and high costs remain the chief reason why migrant workers cannot exert their
After 2015, new arrivals of first-time Bangladeshi workers appear to have fallen off quite dramatically -- this was the main finding of a study done in August and September 2018. Interviews were conducted with 106 Bangladeshi workers and each was asked the year of his first arrival in Singapore. We found unusually few who first
In June 2018, TWC2 volunteer Alston Ng went around asking Bangladeshi workers, "Why did you choose to come to Singapore to work?" The words “neoliberal capitalism” are rarely heard in Singapore, but its message has nonetheless found a faithful following among Singaporeans. Markets are best optimised when left to run by itself, because the exercise
Transient Workers Count Too was represented at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Bangladesh government's handling of migrant worker issues came under scrutiny. Specifically, Bangladesh's governance was reviewed against its commitments to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families. Bangladesh ratified this convention in August
By Poh De Sheng Farid is a Bangladeshi national who has had the uncommon experience of having worked at shipyards in both Bangladesh and Singapore. He was able to offer a comparison of the conditions workers face in Singapore vis-à-vis Bangladesh. Back in Bangladesh, Farid shared a house with six co-workers in the city of
By Shona Loong It is 7.30pm on a Sunday evening, and I am making my way through the heart of Little India. Although this route is familiar to me, everything looks different. Streets that are normally silent and empty are transformed by the presence of large numbers of migrant men chattering away in Bengali. A
At a symposium organised by the Asia Research Institute, TWC2 head of research John Gee said that whilst globally, there had never been better protection in law for migrants' rights, yet in many respects, their actual position was going backwards. Even in Singapore, he felt there has been progress, but placement costs represent one area in which
A visit to the Asea Trading International Singapore Skills Centre in Tangail District of Bangladesh began with a conversation with the managing director Mr. Md Anisur Rahman. He proudly boasted that his centre hosts about 100 men at a time offering training in such skills as welding, electrical wiring, waterproofing, pipefitting and installing acoustical ceilings.
