Transient Workers Count Too sees a relatively small number of Sri Lankans in the course of our work. There are far fewer of them in Singapore compared to Indians and Bangladeshis. Sri Lankans are an approved source for domestic work, construction and marine sectors, but except for women in the former, TWC2 can't recall seeing
By Jiang Haolie It is unthinkable to survive in Singapore earning just $227 a month, or $1.19 for every hour of backbreaking work. Bidut (not his real name), a reclamation worker is doing just that. For comparison, an indoor job at McDonalds would pay five to six dollars an hour; it would earn you Bidut's daily
By Ranjana Raghunathan I ask Balasubramanian Mangaleswaran if he requested for medical treatment from his employer right after injuring his leg. He replies, “I asked them immediately, they just said that they would not pay for it.” He was told, “you must take care of it yourself.” This is against the law (see box at
By Fatima Ying I was given the opportunity to intern for TWC2 and the experience allowed me to interact with migrant workers, most of whom are Indian and Bangladeshi nationals. Through my conversations with them, I got to find out more about their culture and lifestyle here and gained some interesting insights into the world
Ramasamy Ayyasamy's left hand is now virtually useless for work. Three fingers are stiff and there is still a metal splinter inside his ring finger. It's not clear how he is going to continue earning an adequate income to feed his family. Yet, he is at risk of not receiving any compensation for the disability. His
By Ranjana Raghunathan Adaikkalam Nagarajan, 32, was given a “special shoe” to wear for a month. “No other treatment! I was in pain for a month, even with painkillers. I was given light-duty for a month, no medical leave.” TWC2 has noted that many doctors don't issue full medical leave certificates, but only light duty
By Alex Au One afternoon late March 2015, an employer came to Transient Workers Count Too to see if we could help him. "He was almost in tears," said my colleague Russell Heng who devoted more than half an hour lending him a sympathetic ear. He was a contractor with over a hundred workers, but he
By Shona Loong It is a sunny Saturday morning, and I am having a coffee with Jamail—a 32-year old Bangladeshi migrant—in a kopitiam on Veerasamy Road. As we talk, I can sense the uncle at the next table sneaking glances at us. Surely this is a curious sight: there are other Singaporean women and Bangladeshi
By Seema Punwani You must spend money to make money. Even Forbes magazine propagates this theory and it has probably inspired several entrepreneurs. A worker living across the Indian Ocean in Bangladesh who has limited formal education and sparse knowledge of English has in all probability not come across this famous quote. However for him this is
By Joanna Korycinska $6,500 is the amount Hossain Jahir paid upfront to secure a job in Singapore. It took him two and a half years to earn this amount back. Only then did his family begin to benefit from his working here. When he started on this job in March 2012, his pay was $16
