By Debbie Fordyce The first graph (below) suggests that a disproportionate number of Indian and Bangladeshi migrant workers lodge injury claims within the first six months of starting a job. Moreover, TWC2's observation is that many of these injuries are minor and result in little compensation or will heal completely, thus meriting no disability compensation
Unlike other studies that tend to be more focussed on a particular issue, e.g. recruitment costs or access to healthcare, this study takes a more inclusive approach, to look at the various costs of migration, as surfaced by migrant workers themselves in face-to-face interviews. It therefore reveals issues that may be missed by other studies,
By Cheryl Lim, based on an interview in May 2018 With his jaw tightly clenched throughout our entire one-hour conversation, 41-year-old construction worker Rahman Habibur, repeatedly asks me, “Can you get back my money? You can help?” “We will try our best,” I reply. With his hand on the official court order he brought to
Intern Roy Lim was with TWC2 from late April to early June 2018. Among his tasks were to complete a research project, a smallish one in view of the limited time and that fact that it had to be done single-handedly. The attached paper is his report. In his paper, he found that Bangladeshi workers
By Sun Hanchen, based on an interview in January 2018 I wrote about Rajan (not his real name) in an earlier story "Worker asks for reimbursement of medical bills, sets off chain of events". In this story, I will recount his work history, to give readers a glimpse into a foreign worker's experience in Singapore through
About ten months after Subra broke his hip, the doctor said it was time to take the metal plate and screws out. His bones had fused well. It would mean a second operation. Subra rather liked the security of having the metal pieces in place; who knows what would happen if they were taken out?
By Sun Hanchen, based on an interview in November 2017 When most of us apply for a job, we have expectations that the job scope will be related to our field of education or training, and that we will have some knowledge of the people whom we will be working with. It goes beyond expectations
By Aaron Chua, based on an interview in December 2017 Just look at this!”, Alex exclaims, holding up one of the meal cards that are issued by TWC2 to workers in need. The surprise: The date of injury — 20 September 2016. It has been 15 months since. The card belongs to Hossain Muhammad Arif,
By Tristan Powell-Odden, based on an interview in December 2017 Despite being in pain from an injury, Shariful had to look for new accommodation and worry about how to pay for it. Housing issues shouldn't have to complicate an injured worker's life, but they do. Shariful's job was to blast paint from steel surfaces of
By Tristan Powell-Odden, based on an interview in December 2017 Hasan Tamim has been seven months without work as a result of an accident. Not only was he not fully paid his salary before the incident, he has not received proper financial support from his employer since -- despite the law requiring the employer to