Discussion: society & socialisation of migrant labour
In a letter to the press (so far not published), TWC2 past president John Gee urges a better response to mental health concerns.
Singapore is justifiably proud that we have a system for informing prospective workers what their salary entitlements will be before they come to Singapore for a new job. Do workers understand this document?
Workers waste hours waiting for a shuttle bus out of a dorm built five km from public transport. Why is the dorm even there?
Our volunteer tries to understand the experiences of young Bangladeshi men that motivate them to seek work abroad.
Since April 2022, migrant workers in dorms should have had access to primary care doctors with co-payment of just five dollars. Our study looks at uptake and workers' perceptions of the scheme.
Unlike TWC2's WhatsApp number which is regularly advertised, we almost never tell workers the address of the Cuff Road Project, where workers can also come for assistance. So how do they know about it?
Even though most migrant workers have bank cards and half of them have Visa- or Mastercard-enabled cards, the majority were still using cash to top up their transit cards.
We stake stock whether more workers now have bank accounts, and what kinds of bank cards are issued to them. Clear improvement since 2016.
Ponmugan spoke no English. His only experience of work was as a casual day labourer. What happens when he's thrown into our bureaucratic workstyle.
Singapore is facing a migrant labour cruch that is many times worse than what we experienced during Covid, albeit that it may be 20 years away. But we're not mentally ready to prepare and adapt.
