Relationships between employers and employees

24 03, 2019

Forced repatriation still happens — Bala’s story

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 24th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

On this website, we used to carry a number of stories from workers who were lucky enough to escape forced repatriation. But that was several years ago. In the last 3 or 4 years, TWC2 received far fewer such cases. This reduction in cases could mean that attempts at forced repatriation declined, thus resulting

11 03, 2019

The Cuff Road Project 2018

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 11th, 2019|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

TWC2's Cuff Road Project (TCRP) serves the immediate needs of South Asian male migrant workers. Specifically, these are workers who are awaiting resolution of claims, complaints or investigations they've lodged with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and have no access to paid work from their employers due to injury or salary problems or

5 03, 2019

Why do injured workers flee company housing and do they feel safe enough to return?

2019-08-30T16:30:44+08:00March 5th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By Liang Lei, based on interviews conducted in Feb 2019 Home – a personal space. A fleeting sliver of timeless refuge after a long day of work. A safe haven. Does this hold true for foreign workers who have suffered work-related injuries? According to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), employers are obliged to guarantee proper

20 02, 2019

Rahman and employer agree to settle salary claim… then nothing happens

2019-08-30T16:30:45+08:00February 20th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

By Grace Chua, based on an interview in August 2018 It has been three months since Rahman Mostafizur filed a salary claim with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Having started work in March 2017, he was dismayed to note that his salary was unilaterally reduced throughout the fourteen months of employment. Before joining Kah Development

7 01, 2019

Eight men surround Raju at a coffeeshop

2019-08-30T16:30:45+08:00January 7th, 2019|Articles, Stories|

We first featured Raju in the story To encash two cheques, Raju had to jump through hoops, which was about his last three days before going home. Prior to that, he was having difficulty getting due settlement of his injury compensation claim and this story below is about an incident during that period. -- By

15 12, 2018

In-Principle Approval: uses and abuses 2011 – 2018, introduction

2019-08-30T16:30:45+08:00December 15th, 2018|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

Introduction Accompanying this introduction is a six-part series of articles that spotlights the In-Principle Approval for a Work Permit (“IPA”), a key document in the import of foreign labour into Singapore. Behind the document is a process that, over time, has shown several weaknesses. What began as a document and process with a laudable aim

15 12, 2018

In-Principle Approval: uses and abuses 2011 – 2018, part 3

2019-08-30T16:30:45+08:00December 15th, 2018|Articles, Facts, research, analysis, Stories|

Part 3: Getting around IPAs in salary disputes Part 2 of this series described the uneven way in which the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officers and the ministry’s Labour Court [footnote 1] handled salary claims. Sometimes, the In-Principle Approval letter ("IPA") [footnote 2] was admitted as the basis for adjudicating claims. When that happened, employers

4 12, 2018

To encash two cheques, Raju had to jump through hoops

2019-08-30T16:30:46+08:00December 4th, 2018|Articles, Stories|

For a long, long time, TWC2 has been calling for electronic payment of salaries to be made mandatory. Giving employers the option to pay in cash allows all sorts of abuses to happen and seriously disadvantages workers when salary is not paid or only partially paid. Workers are left with no evidence as to how

26 11, 2018

Costs of low-waged labour migration: Difficulties, implications and recommendations

2019-08-30T16:30:46+08:00November 26th, 2018|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

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,

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