Labour relations

21 03, 2018

Majority of Indonesian domestic workers in Singapore “did not get enough to eat”, says researcher

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:06+08:00March 21st, 2018|Articles, Facts, research, analysis|

"The majority of respondents did not get enough to eat, regularly ate a limited variety of food, and often went to bed hungry in employers’ homes," reported Charlene Mohammed in her research paper publicly available at the University of Victoria website. The researcher is with the university's Department of Anthropology, and conducted her study in

14 03, 2018

Eager to go home after 15 jobless months

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:06+08:00March 14th, 2018|Articles, Stories|

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,

7 03, 2018

Crash! Bang! Boss hears windfall from the heavens

alex2019-08-30T16:31:07+08:00March 7th, 2018|Articles, Stories|

Martin* was on his second day at his new job. He was employed as a construction worker, but he had let his boss know that he held a Singapore driving licence. His boss asked him to drive a lorry. Martin hit another car; the lorry suffered scratches. Thankfully, no one was injured. Some days later,

3 03, 2018

Shariful’s case shows how injury leads to poorer housing

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:07+08:00March 3rd, 2018|Articles, Stories|

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

9 01, 2018

No hook for safety harness. Go up anyway, orders supervisor

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:08+08:00January 9th, 2018|Articles, Stories|

By Jiang Zhi Feng, based on an interview in November 2017 “Fall down how?” a concerned Miah asked his company’s supervisor about precariousness of mending a pipe two metres above ground without a safety hook. His supervisor replied, “Nothing one. No problem. Can do,” directing him to carry out orders. On 22 September 2017, Miah

20 12, 2017

Experienced plumber lost, who cares about productivity?

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:08+08:00December 20th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

FOREWORD: For years, Transient Workers Count Too has been speaking out against the revolving door practices behind Singapore's foreign labour. At the slightest unhappiness, employers are quick to send workers home and recruit fresh new faces. Why do they do this? Because they can. Singapore law gives employers total discretion when to terminate employees, there's

15 12, 2017

At TWC2, we ask injured workers about their salary. Why?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:08+08:00December 15th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Liang Lei, based on an interview in October 2017 Running into unexpected trouble overseas is often inconvenient and frustrating – even seasoned travellers among us would readily testify to this. Language barriers, differences in culture and unfamiliarity with foreign administration often confuse us and increase the chances of making mistakes. It must be incomparably

8 11, 2017

Hosen Khalilur has had to fork out $3,500 in rent

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:09+08:00November 8th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

Video by Jonathan Ang, August 2017 Hosen Khalilur's experience is typical of the cases that come to Transient Workers Count Too. After sustaining a back injury at work and being placed on medical leave, company officials make it difficult for him to stay on in company accommodation. In Hosen's case, he tells us in the

15 10, 2017

As Singapore goes cashless, dismantle structural barriers faced by foreign workers

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:30+08:00October 15th, 2017|News, Our Stand|

In his National Day Rally speech on 20 August 2017, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the need for greater efforts in migrating to cashless transactions. Subsequently, other ministers developed the point further. Transient Workers Count Too felt that it was important to ensure that whatever plans are drawn up, they should not inadvertently

28 09, 2017

Unpaid workers find company funds diverted

alex2019-08-30T16:31:30+08:00September 28th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

A boss was apologetic that he was unable to pay his employees their salaries on time. But what is interesting is the reason why he couldn't do so: he had to pay foreign worker levies to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) first. Below are key portions of a transcript of a meeting between the boss (who