Discussion: survey, data and statistics
In 2016, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) received about 9,000 complaints from workers over salaries. These complaints related to about 4,500 employers. This was reported in the Straits Times, 6 Feb 2017, in a story reporting on questions and answers from a parliamentary sitting. Manpower minister Lim Swee Say also mentioned that in the last
After hearing anecdotal reports of 'agent fees' in the region of $17,000 or $18,000, Transient Workers Count Two carried out a pilot survey to determine if these were rare cases, or if recruitment costs have risen dramatically. An earlier research report published in 2012, Worse off for working? found that Bangladeshi workers needed to work
As 2016 came to a close, TWC2 trawled through the website of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to see what prosecutions have been listed there through the year. MOM issues press releases whenever an employer has been sentenced in court. TWC2 found twelve mentions in MOM's website through 2016. The list is shown further down. What
Starting basic salaries for first-time workers from India and Bangladesh have remained more or less static since 2006, averaging slightly under Singapore dollars 600 per month. However, when adjusted for inflation, a downward trend is seen, and thus, in terms of Singapore purchasing power, average basic salaries have declined about 20% since 2006. The above
TWC2's latest research takes a detailed look at recruitment costs borne by female domestic workers in Singapore. Based on a survey of 232 workers conducted in early 2016, the study reveals how much they paid, to whom, and how many months' of salary deductions these payments represented. It also gathered their opinions as to
Of over 500 Indian and Bangladeshi workers surveyed recently by Transient Workers Count Too, one in three reported that they were not getting itemised payslips from their employers. This represents quite a high degree of non-compliance with the Ministry of Manpower's new rule that took effect 1 April 2016. The survey reached a total of
Transient Workers Count Too found that 5% of foreign domestic workers had to share their sleeping space with a male teenager or adult. This is against written law, with a possible fine of up to $10,000. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) confirmed this when the ministry responded to a query by the Straits Times.
The Cuff Road Project[i] (TCRP) serves many purposes. For starters, it fills the bellies of a large number of men who aren’t permitted to work under the terms of their Special Pass, or because of action taken by their employer to prevent them from working. Most of the men have filed a work injury claim
Introduction In March 2016, Minister of State for Manpower Sam Tan told Parliament that the government was not prepared to make bank payment of foreign worker salaries mandatory. He gave a few reasons which the section 'Discussion' below will address. TWC2 felt it would be worthwhile to do a simple survey to check what male work
With the 2014 statistics now out on the Ministry of Manpower's website, a steady rise in workplace injuries can be seen through the five-year period 2010 to 2014. Here are the key numbers: These figures are shown in the bar chart below: It is not clear how "major injuries" are determined and differentiated from "minor
