Volunteers at TWC2 were alarmed to hear from Sohel Rana, in mid July 2016, that the Assistant Commissioner of Labour presiding over his Labour Court case might be planning to rule in a manner contrary to written law. It would seriously undermine his claim and set an extremely bad precedent. Md Sohel Rana's case had
By Nadira Mohd Iesham Except for the first day, Hosen Mobarak has had to fight to get medical treatment. He has not always succeeded. What began as a broken fingernail ended up requiring surgery -- which, from the sequence of events narrated to me, appears to be a consequence of the employer's obstructive tactics. As
Most interns who spend 6 - 9 weeks with TWC2 are asked to wrap up their internship with an essay on a specific topic. Law student Pranay Arvind Suryavanshi spent his mid-year vacation 2016 with us assisting with casework and the Labour Court Research Project. In the process, he came across many foreign workers who
"The police was at the gate of the shipyard that day, checking all workers arriving at work," Nagelli Mahendar Reddy tells TWC2. "I think someone had informed them that there were illegal workers." Unfortunately, Nagelli was one of the 'illegals'. He did not have a work permit. He and a few others from the same
Most interns who spend 6 - 9 weeks with TWC2 are asked to wrap up their internship with an essay on a specific topic. Rebecca spent her mid-year vacation 2016 with us assisting with casework and the Labour Court Research Project. In the process, she came across many foreign workers who had suffered salary non-payment or
Islam Saiful speaks with a volunteer while he takes his dinner at TWC2's Cuff Road Project By Yi Ning On 18 March 2016, Islam Saiful fell about three metres at his worksite, landing on his back and leaving him with agonizing pain. This was just the start of his problems. He was told that
By Poh De Sheng Moorthy, an Indian national, is the sole breadwinner for his family, which consists of his wife, young daughter and parents. He came to Singapore a year and a half ago after being promised a basic salary of $429 per month by a local recruiter in India. However, what seemed like a
By Kan Ren Jie On 23 June 2016, Ataus Samad Rifat, 28, was suddenly fired from his job. "Go back home. Your work permit has been cancelled. We have already bought ticket." The ‘madam’ (the female administrative staff) at his office then proceeded to take his work permit from him. That was how Ataus described
A joint research by Dr Sallie Yea and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) reveals that trafficked fishermen face insurmountable barriers to access legal and economic justice and protection. These barriers are caused by the following factors: significant gaps in measures for victim identification, a lack of coordinated support for the psycho-social needs and well-being of
By Kimberley Ng In recent years, Singapore’s slowing economy has meant fewer construction and marine sector jobs for migrant workers. What few might realise is that recruitment costs have risen prohibitively through the same period. The two are not unrelated: it is a matter of demand for work outstripping supply of jobs. Unfortunately neither the
