Medical treatment

17 07, 2015

Injured worker needs money for treatment, employer turns hostile

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:27+08:00July 17th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Lim Shaomin "See the doctor yourself, after that money give you" is the phrase most dreaded by foreign workers. The statement is duplicitous in its simplicity; settling injury claims are never as straightforward as they seem. Getting reimbursement can take months. In Moyjjin's case (as in the case of many others), it continues to be a frustration.

9 07, 2015

Throwing sawdust at doctor’s advice

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:27+08:00July 9th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Samantha Ege On 14 November 2014, Sarker Babu Sukanto should have been preparing to spend the night in hospital. Moments earlier, he had suffered a fall while at a working site in Kallang. The accident left him with severe pain across his right shoulder, down his back and around his leg. He recalls that in

17 05, 2015

Did the police even know they were visiting a private prison?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:31+08:00May 17th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Sabrina Tay Cowering in severe pain, Shafiqul lay on the floor of his cell and dialled ‘999’. The police and the ambulance arrived shortly. At the same time, the doors to Shafiqul’s cell unlocked as if by themselves and the guards assigned to watch over him miraculously vanished. Shafiqul was taken to the National

5 05, 2015

He can’t see clearly through his injured eye, must he go back to work?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:32+08:00May 5th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Sabrina Tay Amid the buzz of TWC2's free meals programme, Kamrol Sarker lays out his documents asking what they mean. There are papers showing medical leave and his work injury claim. TWC2 treasurer Alex Au patiently explains to him what each is for and what it says. His explanation sort of confirms what Kamrol

26 04, 2015

Worker offers to pay for own medication, yet employer refuses assistance

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:32+08:00April 26th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Lim Shaomin "Four days how to tahan?" says Selim, using a local colloquialism meaning 'withstand'. "Hospital follow boss instructions." I am speaking to Selim Mahmud Babu regarding his most recent injury -- several broken bones in the fourth fingers of his left hand. West Point Hospital gave him four days of medical leave. He

24 03, 2015

Five days of injury cancels out five years of loyalty

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:53+08:00March 24th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Lindene Cleary Shabul came to Singapore in 2009 to work for a marine company. During those five years he has dedicated himself to working hard to support himself and his family back home in Bangladesh. He’s never been injured, and has taken only a handful of days off for illness. Earlier this month, he

9 03, 2015

Foreman to worker: Medical care only if you say injury wasn’t work-related

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:53+08:00March 9th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Samantha Ege His name is Shohag, a young graduate from Bangladesh with a Bachelor of Business Studies. He sits opposite me and spreads three cards on the table between us. ‘Building Construction Supervisor’, ‘Work-at-Height’, ‘Lifting Supervisor’ they read, giving me a glimpse of the post-degree path Shohag has taken here, in Singapore. But the

4 03, 2015

Asking for medical treatment, losing job

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:53+08:00March 4th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

By Maya Nguyen Sixteen days after an accident, Sahajahan, 28, went to a lawyer to seek help with his case. He was then sent to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) where he was told his Work Permit had been cancelled eleven days before. No one had told him. Sahajahan was completely unaware that his overstay

4 02, 2015

“Locking into container never happened,” says employer

webmaster2019-08-30T16:32:54+08:00February 4th, 2015|Articles, Stories|

Express Point Engineering Pte Ltd took exception to our article published on 17 December 2014, titled 'Injured Hossian hidden away in locked container'. The employer asserted that this was untrue, though this was possibly later qualified with a further nuance: that they had no knowledge of any such incident. Following an email from Express Point,

17 12, 2014

Injured Hossian hidden away in locked container

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:32:55+08:00December 17th, 2014|Articles, Stories|

By Fuxiong In the minutes following his three-metre fall, with his right shin and back in pain, Hossian Ramzan was carried by two "tamil man" on the instructions of a company supervisor to a shipping container, "to rest". "Then they lock the door." It worried him, but at first he gave them the benefit of