Discussion: laws and regulations
Statement by Transient Workers Count Too On 28 September 2015, Singapore acceded to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (UN TIP Protocol), often known as the Palermo Protocol. This is the key international legal instrument for combatting trafficking. Though just over 15 years old, it has
Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) is gravely concerned that current bad haze conditions will affect the health of workers in many trades, e.g. construction, marine, sanitation, landscaping. TWC2 strongly urges the government to impose a mandatory Stop Work Order when 3-hour average PSI readings, issued hourly, exceed 200, or when PM2.5 readings exceed 50 micrograms
By Hong Ying Harun Rashid Or has not had the treatment doctors recommended since his accident on 25 August 2015. While trying to understand why, the Ministry of Manpower's own processes come into the picture. As much as he is being victimised by a callous employer, he may also be disadvantaged by a bureaucracy too lax
By Alex Au One afternoon late March 2015, an employer came to Transient Workers Count Too to see if we could help him. "He was almost in tears," said my colleague Russell Heng who devoted more than half an hour lending him a sympathetic ear. He was a contractor with over a hundred workers, but he
By Keith Wong Hossain feels vindicated. He came out of a meeting at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday with a 'settlement paper' signed by his employer in which is stated that he will be paid his salary arrears no later than a week from now. The amount of approximately $5,700 is also more or less
When workers first approach TWC2 for help, an experienced volunteer would run through a checklist of questions with him. We do this because even though workers are quite able to describe the particular problem they need help with, they may not realise that there are other issues that require attention. For example, a worker who has
By Seema Punwani You must spend money to make money. Even Forbes magazine propagates this theory and it has probably inspired several entrepreneurs. A worker living across the Indian Ocean in Bangladesh who has limited formal education and sparse knowledge of English has in all probability not come across this famous quote. However for him this is
By Shona Loong Sandir’s story Standing together in Lembu Park Open Space (the ‘Minimart’), 32-year old Sandir points to a spot on the ground and reminisces. In 2008, on the first of three migration trips to Singapore, the Bangladeshi man was caught for littering here. He professes to remember it clearly: after chewing on some
Following TWC2's letter in the Straits Times Forum, 17 June 2015, Ensure pay is banked, offer mobility, the Ministry of Manpower's response was published on 23 June 2015 Electronic payments mandatory upon foreign workers' request Mr Alex Au suggested that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) mandate electronic payment of salaries for foreign workers, and allow
By Kimberley Cham Four days. That is how long Humaun has before he goes back to Bangladesh. Back to his family, his wife, 9-month old son Tanjime, father, mother and 22-year old brother. Yet when Humaun reaches home, he does not return from a fruitful time in Singapore. Instead, he brings back heartbreak and gloom.
