Preliminary findings from a study of workplace injuries and ill-health in 2011 reveal that slightly more than half of total costs fall on workers themselves, when quantified into dollar terms. Since low-wage foreign workers tend to be the ones doing the dangerous jobs, they suffer injuries and ill-health disproportionately. Now they -- the least able
By Chow Zhi Ying Zaman (not his real name) was out of work for three months even though his work permit had not expired. After a serious conflict with his supervisor, who demanded money from him, his boss agreed to give him a transfer letter. It would allow Zaman to join another company if he
"At the [agency] office, every morning, we must clean the office," says Mary Grace Pescador, 31, a domestic helper from the Philippines, "and from 10am to 1am -- i.e. past midnight -- we have to stand. As punishment." The six women were being punished by their employment agent because the employers they had been assigned
Transient Workers Count Too served 57,852 meals at our Cuff Road Project through the first six months of 2013. We averaged about 2,160 meals per week, which is 45 - 50 percent higher than the weekly average in 2011. The monthly totals can be be gleaned from the table at left. The June figure is
Within about a week of arriving in Singapore in early January 2013 to take up his welder job, Aminul discovered that the $6,000 (Bangladesh Taka 390,000) he had paid in Bangladesh as "employment agent's fee" was far higher than the norm. "I ask other worker how much they give for agent money," he tells TWC2,
The above are file pictures and do not represent any of the workers mentioned in this article Foreign workers with relatively serious injuries get very little medical leave when their employers send them to private hospitals. From a recent survey (15 July 2013), we came across one worker (Case ref 094) who had a broken
By YC Loh “Where do you stay now?” I ask Salim. "Last night, sleep this table," is his reply, pointing to an eatery table. "Night before, sleep minimart there,” indicating a bit of space under a tree at Little India’s ‘Bangla Square’. He has been brought to this sad, homeless state through his agent’s duplicity and
Riya was sentenced to three weeks in jail in June this year for twice submitting false documents to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). She had no clue that she had committed the offence. Her life fell apart in October 2012 when her employer suddenly took her to MOM with her documents in a bag --
Click to see a larger image Generally, legal representation is not necessary for claiming Work Injury Compensation. MOM will deal with the relevant parties to process the claim, and any party can approach MOM for advice or assistance on the claims procedures. However, if the claimant wants to assess whether to claim compensation
Md Sabuj (right) with his friend Nurabi Sarkar (left) By Wendy Ma First he had to give a big chunk of his salary to his co-worker who acted as an illegal agent, then he hurt his back in his second job. Sabuj Obidaul Hoque ended up with nowhere to rest his head at
