It is still October 2014. Chodawre Badal doesn't say much, but just shows your writer a letter from the National University Hospital (NUH) giving him an assessment date for 8 May 2015, seven months away. 'Assessment' is the stage when a worker, following a work injury, is assessed for residual permanent incapacity, so that an
At a symposium organised by the Asia Research Institute, TWC2 head of research John Gee said that whilst globally, there had never been better protection in law for migrants' rights, yet in many respects, their actual position was going backwards. Even in Singapore, he felt there has been progress, but placement costs represent one area in which
By Eitan After a year of volunteering, I can now spot a new guy at our soup kitchen with little difficulty. Unlike the 'regulars' who know the drill -- present a meal card, sign into the registration book, get a token -- and who also engage in some banter with TWC2 volunteers, the new ones
Singapore brings in hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from India and Bangladesh for the construction and marine industries. We also have large numbers of technical and professional immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. They need to eat. They prefer to eat at restaurants that serve their kind of food. To keep their customers happy, restaurant
Continued from part 3. TWC2 stayed in contact off and on with the four men from JS Metal Pte Ltd through the months following the lodging of their claims at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). For a while they had some work, all at temporary jobs "make furniture" with Delco Art Interior Decoration, located at Kallang
Buried within an announcement about a new minimum percentage of higher-skilled workers in construction firms, the Ministry of Manpower also announced that work permit construction workers will be able to move to new jobs at the end of their work permit periods without first having to go home. This new policy will take effect from
This is the talk TWC2 vice-president Alex Au gave at the National University of Singapore to a large class (about 300 - 400) of students from various faculties on 15 October 2014. The text here is a somewhat fuller version of the talk itself, which wasn't entirely read from script, and which was constrained by
Yeusof (not his real name) knew there was something wrong with his monthly pay slip from Hyundai Engineering & Construction when he showed up for breakfast at TWC2's Cuff Road Project one morning in September 2014. He was quite sure his employer had underpaid him, showing us his documents so that we might verify his
By Alex Au Many stories on the website of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) tell of the abuses inflicted on migrant workers in Singapore. TWC2 holds the view that the regulatory system governing the recruitment and control of foreign labour lies at the root of these abuses. Fortunately, many employers refrain from taking full advantage
A new survey of nearly three hundred male migrant workers found that 26 to 40 percent of them suffered a pay deduction commonly known as 'savings money' -- roughly one in three workers. The deduction averaged $50 a month. An earlier survey (see: One third of male migrant workers aren't paid what they are due)
