Here's a close look at a bank loan a worker took out and the burden of repayments. Someone other than the worker is the main beneficiary of his labours.
To pay the agent fee for his job, Shahadat had to take a loan. We calculate the interest rate involved. We can barely believe our math.
What was Sajalal's salary? He couldn't be sure. We ask him to give us a history and it shines a light on some widespread employer practices.
Hasan paid over $15,000 for his first job in Singapore, which didn't materialise. After 4 months in limbo, he approached us. A case study of the social work we do.
Banned from selling to the US, Top Glove has to compensate its migrant workers, losing half of 2019 after-tax profit as a result.
Right before our noses, illegal job agents operate with impunity in Singapore itself, raking in loads of money. Employers offering jobs through these recruiters don't smell too clean either.
To fund the required recruitment fee for his job, Habibur took a loan from Brac Bank. Even from the beginning, the repayment demands looked tight. Then the unexpected happened.
Nahid's first job turned out relatively well, but he hadn't gone home to see his family in five years. So he resigned and, soon after, had to look for another job.
Kamrul and Majumder share something important: both their illegal recruiters were based here in Singapore. In Majumder's case, an additional payment was demanded by someone in the company.
Shafiqul borrowed 200,000 taka from a bank to finance his recruitment cost. He now owes 250,000.
