"So many years, I not sick," says Mollah Jahangir, 35. "One time have problem only, boss quickly want to send me home." This employer enjoyed loyalty from his worker for eight years, but showed none in return. Mollah Jahangir worked as a grass cutter and occasional water pipe fixer for CPK Contractor Pte Ltd, one
By Fuxiong "If I not work, how I live?" Injured worker Md Milon Samsul Haque is telling me why he is now under investigation by MOM for working illegally. But his story has a twist: It was his illegal employer who reported to the authorities that Milon was working underground. "He think he Singapore man,
By Joyce Wong He signed and accepted the five points awarded through the injury assessment and is waiting for the payout to go home. But on checking his case status via MOM's website, he is surprised to learn he is scheduled for a pre-hearing conference. “So what did your lawyer and MOM officer say about
By Nguyen Minh Quan “Mother must die”, says Muthu Chetty Murugesan when he shows me his injured left eye. What he means is his mother will be devastated when she learns that her son has lost an eye. He hasn't yet told anyone back home about the injury. "My country no one know," he says,
By Pan Chuen His livelihood depended on him being physically fit and able to shoulder heavy materials, but a worksite injury dashed those hopes. The only break in the dark clouds above him is a compensation pay-out from his employer. But what if the lawyer doesn't act promptly? Like many other Bangladeshi workers in Singapore,
Several law firms specialising in work injury claims have offices in Little India By Nguyen Minh Quan To the question "How much do you have to pay your lawyer, how much is he going to charge you?" Gowri (not his real name) replies: "Charging, no talking." It is phrased in a way migrant workers
The number of injury cases seen at the Cuff Road Project more than doubled between 2011 and 2013, latest figures show. In 2011, our volunteers saw 807 injured workers; it shot up to 1,523 cases in 2012, and rose some more in 2013, to 1,791. However, the total numbers seen at our meal programme increased
Several stories on our website tell of workers who complain that their employers deny that their injuries were caused by workplace accidents. A recent study by Transient Workers Count Too and Healthserve found that a significant percentage of them worry about what their employers told doctors about the circumstances of the accident. But why? Why
Afzal first came to the attention of Transient Workers Count Too on 22 March 2013, six days after being assaulted by a Thai worker wielding a beer bottle. Just looking at Afzal, you wouldn’t know that anything was seriously wrong. You'd spot a black eye, with a little blood in the white of the eye,
By Max Ang The modern urban environment is a tough and unrelenting place where the simplest of needs is monetised. Money is needed in the exchange for basic necessities, such as food and shelter. Without it, one can starve amidst plenty. Such is the predicament of Perumal Thamilarasan. Two years into his job as a
