Medical treatment

25 07, 2017

Employers owe hospitals money; workers’ treatment at risk

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:32+08:00July 25th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Liang Lei, based on an interview in May 2017 Undoubtedly, Singapore can boast of a world-leading healthcare system that offers high quality medical treatment for a wide range of injuries, diseases and emergencies. Unfortunately, timely and trouble-free access to such services is frequently lacking for our foreign labor, when injuries occur at work. I speak to

18 07, 2017

Employer demands worker return to work. Worker says he’s not well enough. Who’s right?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:32+08:00July 18th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Wahid Al Mamun, based on an interview in May 2017 Dipangka (not his real name) is of slight frame and voice. He shifts around gingerly on the plastic seat at TWC2's free meals programme. As I endeavour to coax the story of his injury out of him, I come to learn of a mutual misunderstanding

12 07, 2017

Sukranjan’s case drags beyond 12 months. How is he to survive?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:32+08:00July 12th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Troy Lee, based on an interview in May 2017 On the Ministry of Manpower’s website, it is stated that most work injury claims take “3 to 6 months for most cases. Some injuries may need more time to stabilise before a doctor can assess for permanent incapacity.” However, many of the cases that come to

1 07, 2017

Kamroul waiting months for MRI, not allowed to work, no income

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:32+08:00July 1st, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Sun Hanchen Hasan Kamroul was a marine trades worker, working at Benoi Shipyard. 7 December 2016 was supposed to be just another normal work night for him, but all changed several hours into his shift. Having been tasked to move some 26-inch pipes with two of his fellow workers, Kamroul set about doing his

9 06, 2017

How do you determine if your employer or doctor is “good” or “bad”?

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:33+08:00June 9th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

We wondered how a foreign worker might form an opinion whether he was getting adequate medical care. We picked a worker at random to see what he has to say. By Cheow Yong Jian Meet Kalam Md Abul, 28, a construction worker whose experiences leave him in considerable doubt on how to answer this question.

24 05, 2017

Left bleeding for four hours, no ambulance called

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:33+08:00May 24th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Sun Han Chen The senior volunteer clenches his fist tightly. “Are you able to do this?” he asks Khalil Ibrahim whom we're interviewing. “Yes, but very pain,” Ibrahim replies softly, repeatedly rubbing his right forearm, which reveals a long scar where not long ago there had been seven stitches. It was a deep wound,

20 04, 2017

Worker can’t get surgery; everything’s a bureaucratic mess

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:33+08:00April 20th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Namgay Choden Hasan Mohammad Suman’s left thumb was injured December 2016 when it was jammed between steel bars at his worksite. It is late February now as I speak with him. He is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow at Ng Teng Fong Hospital in Jurong East. However, for the surgery to go ahead, he has to present

12 04, 2017

From a complicated injury case, a simple truth

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:33+08:00April 12th, 2017|Articles, Stories|

By Long Yiou As a rookie interviewer, I feel that Hossain Mohammad Alamgir’s injury case is far more complicated than the storyline of the movie Inception. Though he has only been in Singapore for two years -- he came in August 2014 -- Hossain has had two injury disputes with three different companies. The interview hits

14 02, 2017

Employers should purchase more insurance, salutary lesson shows

webmaster2019-08-30T16:31:34+08:00February 14th, 2017|Articles, News, Our Stand, Stories|

We'll call the worker 'Byoghu' in this story. He had worked before in Singapore and quite successfully. But when he returned for a second job, he soon fell ill. In the first two weeks on the job, he had a fever and was given medical leave. The employer decided to cancel his Work Permit on

13 12, 2016

By being obstructive over initial treatment, Hosen’s employer may end up paying more medical costs

Volunteer Writing Team2019-08-30T16:31:36+08:00December 13th, 2016|Articles, Stories|

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