Video by Jonathan Ang, August 2017 Hosen Khalilur's experience is typical of the cases that come to Transient Workers Count Too. After sustaining a back injury at work and being placed on medical leave, company officials make it difficult for him to stay on in company accommodation. In Hosen's case, he tells us in the
https://youtu.be/sJgiTBRV_tM Text by Jean Law, video by Jonathan Ang Hossain Monir believes that compensation for his permanent injury was paid out three months ago, but not to him. He is mistaken, but he is not totally wrong either. Indeed, a compensation sum had been offered to him, but he wasn't informed. His case shows how
Islam Rafiqul and Sujan Ahmed were downcast when they first approached TWC2 for help. But by the time they went back to Bangladesh, their faith in Singaporeans was fully restored, thanks to the Straits Times and Give.asia -- a crowdfunding platform for people in need. In Rafiqul's case, he had won a Labour Court case,
By Janson Chang “I was the number one good worker,” says Sheikh Milon, betraying a hint of emotion for the first time in our conversation, beneath his otherwise rugged, unflappable exterior. “I worked six years, no MC. Company grow from 40 to 400 people. But after injury…” His voice trails off for awhile, before fading
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
We'll call the worker 'Byoghu' in this story. He had worked before in Singapore and quite successfully. But when he returned for a second job, he soon fell ill. In the first two weeks on the job, he had a fever and was given medical leave. The employer decided to cancel his Work Permit on
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
Journalist Toh Yong Chuan had a short op-ed on page 2 of the Straits Times 24 Jan 2017 following his two reports of workers who could not collect on their Labour Court awards. See these stories on Islam Rafiqul and Sujan Ahmed. He argued that it was important to plug the gap in the law,
Just like Islam Rafiqul's case which was told in the Straits Times last week, Sujan Ahmed too is unable to collect the Labour Court award he has been given. Sujan's employer is simply refusing to pay up and the Ministry of Manpower suggested that he should apply to the State Courts for a Writ of Seizure
By James Mah “Go back home”. Such remarks can be heard infrequently in Singapore, uttered by locals frustrated at the sight of migrant workers on public transport when buses and trains are jam-packed. Most of the time, these comments would be said from the stress of the moment, without any malicious intent. This was not the
