Once in a while, Transient Workers Count Too succeeds in helping a worker get everything that is due to him. Not only is the worker happy, so are we. Deliriously. But there was a month in which everything looked very bleak for Hazrat (not his real name). His employer had submitted salary vouchers with forged
Transient Workers Count Too believes that the present system wherein workers' work permits are tied to employers with little scope for transfer is an unhealthy state of affairs. TWC2 would like to see the system changed to one where the general rule is that work permit holders have a right to change jobs within their
This statement clarifies the stand of Transient Workers Count Too with respect to the provision of accommodation to workers who have been placed on Special Passes, as a consequence of a salary dispute, illness or injury. Specifically, the reference is to workers who had once been on Work Permits, or had been in line for
By Max Ang The modern urban environment is a tough and unrelenting place where the simplest of needs is monetised. Money is needed in the exchange for basic necessities, such as food and shelter. Without it, one can starve amidst plenty. Such is the predicament of Perumal Thamilarasan. Two years into his job as a
By T K “Photo photo”, the men called out to the TWC2 volunteers to help take pictures, as they lined up beside the movie director, chests out, shoulders squared and faces to the lens. This was at the screening of "Television (2012)" by Bangladeshi film director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. The film was among several in the listing
"You see my IPA," says Shipon as he leaves through a whole sheath of papers. "It say here my salary one month $650." The 'IPA' is the In-principle approval for a work permit and contains the terms of employment that the employer declares to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) at the time of applying for
For both groups -- those regularly working and those with injury and salary claims-- the threat of premature repatriation creates a lot of stress. It is the most important stress factor among working workers, and the second-most important, after being injured, among injured and salary-claim workers. Having uncleared debts incurred in agents fees also hung
Webmaster: Sometimes we need to be reminded that migrant workers may come from very different cultures. Shoriful's story about getting married may sound very strange, but is quite typical for men from Bangladesh. Money concerns also feature prominently, heightened by expectations that workers ought to be remitting large amounts of money when in truth, some
By Lisa Li Before coming to Singapore, Kabir was promised that the job would pay $32 a day. But "when I start work , I no get 32 dollars, they pay only 28 dollars," he tells Transient Workers Count Too. "We hear of such problems quite frequently," says TWC2 vice-president Alex Au. "Some employers take advantage
By Keith W Yes, you read the headline right. The victim was detained -- so to speak. Muthunayagam Saju has been told by the police that he is not allowed to go home to India. He must remain in Singapore because they may need him in order to prosecute the robber. Saju, 36, feels trapped
