By Isaac Ong, based on an interview in November 2017 "This is my wrong but I don't want pay [you] money. Even if I go jail, [even if] I no company, but I still don't want pay money", Rafa (not his real name) was told by his boss. 49-year-old Rafa is practically a veteran of
On 5 December 2017, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) put up a note on their Facebook page accusing TWC2 of publishing an "inaccurate" account. This was in relation to the story we had posted on 12 October 2017 titled "Fraud committed using ministry letterhead". We stand by our story. We consider MOM's accusation against us
Sarowar (not his real name) approaches our help desk hesitantly. Despite being in his mid-thirties, he does not exude much self-confidence. Maybe it's because he knows his English is weak, and what he has to tell us is fairly complicated. However, it didn't take us long to grasp the nub of the problem: Someone had
By Wahid Al Mamun based on an interview late July 2017 A lot of things can happen in two months, and Mollah Showrov has learned this the hard way. His right leg is now in held immobile in an orthopaedic boot. I notice how gingerly he seats himself in the plastic chair beside me. Here
Transient Workers Count Too is deeply appreciative of the US State Department's efforts at drawing attention to the evil of trafficking in persons, through its annual Trafficking in Persons Report. The 2017 segment relating to Singapore can be found here: https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271276.htm Singapore was classed as Tier 2. TWC2 notes in particular these comments in the report:
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
Transient Workers Count Too sees a relatively small number of Sri Lankans in the course of our work. There are far fewer of them in Singapore compared to Indians and Bangladeshis. Sri Lankans are an approved source for domestic work, construction and marine sectors, but except for women in the former, TWC2 can't recall seeing
The New York Times has an exposé on Step Up Marine, a manning agency operating out of Singapore's Chinatown, and its network of recruiters in neighbouring countries. Young men are deceived and entrapped into horrendously abusive jobs on fishing trawlers, including Eril Andrade who died at sea. Court papers in the Philippines point the finger clearly
TWC2 has recently learned from a migrant worker organisation in Taiwan that the regulations there make a clear distinction between a domestic worker and a caretaker. The job of domestic workers is to look after young children. They are employed by families with at least one child under the age of six and are forbidden to
Statement by Transient Workers Count Too On 28 September 2015, Singapore acceded to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (UN TIP Protocol), often known as the Palermo Protocol. This is the key international legal instrument for combatting trafficking. Though just over 15 years old, it has
