Before leaving their home country for Singapore to take up new jobs, Aman Ullah and Rafiqul Islam received a letter each from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Titled "In-principle Approval for Work Permit" and commonly known as "IPA", the letter stated their jobs, the name of their employer, their basic monthly salary and other allowances
Continued from Part 1. "Mustafa Plaza," Manik told the taxi driver. He figured it would be safest there with lots of fellow Bangladehsis around. He might get some help too. By September 19, just a few days alter, the $50 in his pocket was dwindling fast, and it was obvious there was no way he
By Ramesh First-time volunteer Jason Lim says the experiences of his youth shaped his views towards migrant workers and domestic helpers. “I remember being shocked when I asked my mom how much we paid our maid,” said the 29-year-old civil servant. “I think it was just under $300 a month and I thought it was
"Are you scared?" your correspondent asked Manik, seated across the table. His operation was scheduled for Monday, December 19, 2011, just four days away. He had never had an operation, never been under general anaesthesia before. He paused for a while, then nodded subtly. Your correspondent tried to reassure him: "You'll come out of it
Challenging themselves to "do good famously", three interns from British advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty Limited (BBH) came up with the idea of having one of them, Ian Napier, live and work as a migrant worker for a short while, and report on what it feels like to be one in Singapore. His colleagues Mark
On Tuesday morning, December 13, 2011, the boss of RegiCo (pseudonym of company name) called 23 employees, all migrant workers, to his office and announced that the company was bankrupt. "You should go to the Ministry of Manpower after this," he advised. One would think the men would have been anxious about losing their jobs,
Every person has multiple talents; migrant workers too. At TWC2's celebration of International Migrants Day (IMD), some of these hidden talents came to the fore. Members of the Indonesian Family Network (IFN), Filipino Family Network (FFN) and guests from Resorts World Singapore and elsewhere came forward to show off different sides of their personalities in
Mahabubul Abul Khayer's employment history illustrates how exploitative and disgraceful Singapore's record of using foreign labour is. Repeatedly, employment agents made thousands of dollars out of him. At least in the early years, he got in return a job through which he more or less recovered what he had paid. Lately, however, the practice seems
By Spiegel Ramachandran arrived six years ago. Leaving his parents and two siblings in Tamil Nadu, he found in Singapore a new life, steady employment, and a shot at lifting his family into a better existence. He earned his keep as a fitter at Jurong Shipyard, where his amiability and conscientiousness on the job earned
It's been 33 years, said Isaac Tan, since foreign domestic workers started moving into Singaporean households. A generation of young people has grown up with them. How have their presence impacted our lives? Together with his friends, Abhiroop Basu, Dawn Toh and others – "creative types", according to TWC2 president Russell Heng – Isaac hit
