By Kan Ren Jie On 23 June 2016, Ataus Samad Rifat, 28, was suddenly fired from his job. "Go back home. Your work permit has been cancelled. We have already bought ticket." The ‘madam’ (the female administrative staff) at his office then proceeded to take his work permit from him. That was how Ataus described
A joint research by Dr Sallie Yea and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) reveals that trafficked fishermen face insurmountable barriers to access legal and economic justice and protection. These barriers are caused by the following factors: significant gaps in measures for victim identification, a lack of coordinated support for the psycho-social needs and well-being of
By Aruj Shukla It has long been a well-known fact that migrant workers in Singapore need to pay an exorbitant amount of money as agent fees to the middlemen based in their respective home countries. Stories about the possibility of the employers colluding with the agent and taking a sizeable cut from the agent fees
By Gek Han On paper, Ali Noman, 40, was employed for about five months. His work permit was issued by construction company Sun Demolition Pte Ltd last July. In reality, Ali was given neither work not wages. “Friend say no work. Company say no work,” Ali says not with anger, but helplessness. He had been
By Ranjana Raghunathan At TWC2's Cuff Road Project, a group of five workers, three Indian and two Bangladeshi, catch my attention. They seem to know each other, and have come to enroll themselves in the free meal program together. Upon questioning a little, I learn that they, along with four other workers, faced issues
By Ranjana Raghunathan “Oh you share your name with the wonderful Tamil music director,” I try to break the ice as he nods, unimpressed at my remark. Elayaraja is from Killaipichavaram, a village near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, India. He was earning about 10,000 Rupees per month (around $200) in India, from fishing. I ask
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.
The story "Cannot sleep.... I remember my wife's crying" described the injustice done to Bangladeshi worker Humaun. He came to Singapore for a promised job only to be told there was none for him. The job offer had been properly documented through an In-principle Approval for a Work Permit (IPA) from the Ministry of Manpower,
Kuwait's legislature passed two new laws recently to improve the conditions of domestic workers. One of the laws sets up a new type of company for recruiting domestic workers to replace the private companies that currently recruit domestic helpers. The new type of company cannot take any payments from the recruited workers. According to a statement
For a payment of $3,000, Ahmead Rubel, 28, found a job for fellow Bangladeshi, Jabed, to work as a construction worker in Nanjing Minglu Construction Engineering Co. Ltd. For conducting employment agency activities without a valid employment agency licence, Rubel -- himself a construction worker -- was fined $40,000 in default four months' imprisonment, reported
