Message from John
One of our strong points as a society is that we have become a good source of accurate information and sound advice. Students and educators often turn to us for assistance with projects; journalists call to seek our views and to ask for information that can help them to prepare their reports; recently, the helpline has, among other things, expanded the scope of the advice we offer.
Last month, we launched a newly overhauled TWC2 website. It is at the same address as before: www.twc2.org.sg, but looks quite different from the old site. I hope that you like it.
I should say that the old site was well used. Researchers looked in on it, particularly students. A couple of years ago, I decided to see what would come up on Yahoo! if I looked up ‘TWC2, Singapore’, and the first items that came up were other people’s articles or sites that mentioned us, and they weren’t necessarily very informative. Last year, TWC2’s own material took the lead. I hope that, with the improvements that have been made, there’ll be more readers still and that whatever appears on the site will be given a wider circulation.
Thanks are due to Ricky Wang, a member who looked critically at the old site last year and came up with the broad outline of how a new site should be organised, as well as writing half the new section headings. Digital Boomerang took our proposals and worked with us on a full overhaul of the existing site. They have been a great help since our original site was launched in 2003, being very supportive and patient. They consulted with us closely throughout the entire process of redesigning and setting up the new site and also trained three TWC2 volunteers (Eng Eng, Sha and myself) in how to put new articles on, amend existing ones, and other skills needed in managing it. I have thanked them for this and would also like to express my appreciation to the colleagues who undertook training and especially to Sha for the long hours she spent putting material on the site.
Members can help TWC2 as a whole to keep informed and to be a good source of information. In the past year, individual members have reported suspected abuse cases on which we have been able to act; told us of examples of demeaning advertising of domestic workers and insulting behaviour by certain agents towards workers; sent in advice on useful sources of information that we would otherwise not have known; and asked the kind of questions that had us looking for answers that will be useful to others in the future. Please keep this up!
I should not conclude without introducing John Wilson Devasahayam to you. He is our new Office Manager, who started work with us on 1st June. He comes to TWC2 with an enthusiastic attitude, experience in co-ordinating projects and administration, and an existing sympathy with what we are trying to do as a society. He was previously in special education teaching, but has had a longstanding interest in the status of foreign workers in Singapore. His MA thesis at NUS was on domestic workers. I am confident that he will add significantly to the efficiency with which the office functions.
John
News
Md. Hiru Update
‘You’ll never walk again’ was the 19th March headline on ‘The New Paper’’s report on the injuries of Bangladeshi worker, Md Hiru Miah, suffered while trying to escape arrest after overstaying in Singapore. (See members’ newsletter, March-April)
We’ve heard from HOME that Hiru is now able to stand up and to move around with support following a second operation. It was feared when the 27-year old construction worker returned to Bangladesh that he would be unable to move his lower limbs ever again.
May Day Celebration at the Zoo
Around 10,000 foreign workers went to Singapore Zoo in a celebration held to mark May Day. Some crowded in to watch the dancing, acrobatics and games staged at the lakeside. Many enjoyed themselves ambling around the zoo. Normally, the cost of the entrance ticket would be offputting, but on Sunday 13th May, thanks to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), they had free admission.
NTUC May Day literature proclaimed a ‘Labour Movement for All’, and making provision for foreign workers was a statement that ‘all’ includes them – as well as a good day out!
TWC2 has consistently stood for a welcoming and inclusive attitude towards foreign workers who come to Singapore and so we are pleased that the NTUC arranged such an event.
*John Gee & TWC2 helpliners at event
Sculpture Square Party
When Vincent Leong came from Malaysia to be Artist in Residence at Sculpture Square, he planned to create a Singapore-themed installation titled ‘Tropical Paradise’ in one of the rooms on site.
The exhibition was opened on 6th May in an unusual way, with ‘a party to celebrate the hard work of the people who left their homes to contribute to the development of Singapore’. Food and drinks were provided, as well as free T-shirts for the first 100 non-Singaporeans to come. There were just a few people present at the official starting time of 3pm, but then the numbers picked up as the afternoon went on. One member of the Indonesian Family Network had particular reason to be pleased: she was the winner of the lucky draw and staggered away holding a basket full of food and other goods.
TWC2 helped by distributing some of the invitation leaflets.
Help Desk Second Anniversary
HOME (Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics) has had a help desk and a helpline service going for two years, and it held a forum to mark the anniversary on 27th May. Among the sessions was one in which the many domestic workers present (mostly from the HOME shelters) discussed the outstanding issues that they feel need action. These were raised with a panel of speakers that included Mrs Annabella Oliveiros, Labour Attaché at the Philippines Embassy, Florence Tee of the NTUC-Migrant Workers Committee, two lawyers who help HOME with legal advice and John Gee from TWC2.
On Her World’s ‘Power List’…
The April issue of ‘Her World’ carried a feature by Sabina-Leah Fernandez headed ‘The Power List’, which consisted of photos and brief write-ups on women in Singapore who are ‘poised to change your world’. Those appearing included Braema, described as ‘Fighting for the Underdogs’ and as President of TWC2, which she was at the time of writing. Sara Dean, who took a very active part in The Working Committee 2, was featured as a ‘supermum.’ Nurifah Rasidi, president of the Indonesian Family Network, also appears – a deserving inclusion and a welcome example of a publication giving due recognition to foreign workers in Singapore.
Degrading Advertisements
The big Homelink posters at Katong Mall that advertised ‘Filipino & Indon Maids – No Off Day – Lowest Pay & Fee’ were taken down in April. A member drew this advertisement to our attention in the first place, a member of the public then wrote a letter that was published in ‘The Straits Times’ and one of our ExCo members wrote directly to the company raising his objections to the poster.
Degrading advertising continues elsewhere, unfortunately. This was spotted on the internet site of a company called INDIAMART:
Lucy Recruitment Centre [Singapore]
Looking For Bulk North Indian Maids
We are looking for bulk supply of quality north indian house maids who can speak hindi, english and have over 5 years experience in child care, elder care, house cleaning, cooking etc.
Posted on: 12th Dec 2006
Quantity: Bulk
It sounds as though these workers are being hired by weight, not as individual women!
The number of north Indian women employed as domestic workers in Singapore is relatively small. There may be an increased demand for them because of a recent influx of expatriate professionals from northern India, who are reported to have a preference for employing domestic workers from their home areas.
The Transfer Fee Issue
Since TWC2’s first investigations of the problems faced by foreign domestic workers in Singapore, we have heard many complaints about the costs with which workers find themselves saddled. Many end up paying over seven or eight months of their salary to cover the charges made for their placement, so it is not surprising that those who are told that they must pay out three or four more months of their salaries as a transfer fee resent it strongly.
Most workers take the view that it isn’t unreasonable to have to pay an amount that allows an agent to cover costs and make a reasonable profit, but they object to four practices in particular:
i. Raising charges to levels they see as excessive, running to three or four months’ pay. The result is that while some workers pay $300-$350 to transfer, some can pay as much as $1,200.
ii. The charging of transfer fees to workers whether they were responsible for the decision to seek a transfer or not. If the worker has faced any form of abusive behaviour by her employer, or if her employer no longer needs her for any reason (the family are migrating to another country, for example, or they are having money problems and can’t afford a worker), then it seems unjust that the worker should pay.
iii. Supplying a worker to an employer who the agency knows to be abusive, very choosy or just hard to get along with, and then making money out of her when she leaves and asks for a transfer. The worker should be told of the employer’s track record and be given the chance to refuse to take the risk of going to work for that person.
iv. Imposing a high transfer fee as a deterrent against seeking to change employers. By doing this, they are exerting unfair pressure on workers to stay with employers who may harm them.
There is a need for us to talk with others about this issue to find the best ways to tackle the problem, but we need to refine TWC2’s own position now and as we go forward. Comments and factual information from members can help to provide the society with a fuller understanding of this problem and more concrete proposals for how to resolve it. Please write in if you can help.
Helpline Highlights
Issue: May/June 2007
We are introducing ‘Helpline Highlights’ to members with pointers they can adopt when facing queries related to foreign workers. We hope to engage members into the helpline service and share our experiences so far. If you have queries, please do send them to
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and we will try our best to answer them.
In this issue, we tackle the case of a runaway foreign domestic worker.
The Case
A TWC2 helpliner picked up a call from a domestic worker from Indonesia with queries pertaining to her rights over wages, overwork and physical abuse. The caller was referred to TWC2 by a neighbour in the area the caller works at. The FDW who called in, had confided her story to the neighbour.
Having been in Singapore for the past eighteen months without any salary paid, she repeatedly asked for her wages but was told it will be paid after her 2-year contract ends. Her other complaint was the right to an off day each month which was not given and no reimbursement was also made. During the eighteen months, she reported having to wake up at 6am and only sleep at 2.30am after work is done. Understandably, she felt overworked.
With that said the caller seeks the help of her agency for a transfer or to be returned to Indonesia. She did this by making a trip to the agency (TWC2 is unaware of which date as she claimed she had no off days) to ask for a transfer after making several unsuccessful calls to their office. She claimed to have been punished instead as the agency felt the story was not legitimate and made to stand for 8 hours whilst enduring mocking remarks in public. After which, she was returned to her employer. The caller stated she was embarrassed.
One other claim the caller made was towards physical abuse. She experienced minor physical abuse such as knocks on heads and was hit by a newspaper on several occasions. She did not have any physical marks on her body as a result of this. We also found the caller to be emotional and suicidal as she confessed to having drunk bleach once to end her life. We advised the caller on the possibility of running away to a shelter as we felt she may have endured this for 18 months and even though having tried to seek a transfer, she was unable to successfully solve her issues. We then advised the caller on the steps she will have to take along with the help of external organisations should she wish to runaway. We then told her to think about the matter and get back to us should she come to a decision.
The caller returned back with a decision to runaway, TWC2’s Case Manager then made preparations to put her up in a shelter.
Pointers
It is important to find out if a domestic worker who decided to runaway is caring for young children at their employer’s place. If she decides to runaway, the children’s safety should be a priority too. Alternative approaches such as when an FDW washes the employer’s car in the morning and able to find the chance to make a run, since there are people at home to look after the kids.
Not all employment agencies will look into transfers for domestic workers however an employer’s request for a transfer will take precedence first. In the case above, the agency was not helpful and further subjected her to ridicule. It is important to test the friendliness of agencies to find out if they are willing to help as they may not entertain an FDW’s request and may return the worker back to her abusive employer.
On the matter of physical abuse, should the abuse produce marks on one’s body, it is advisable to immediately reach a police post or straight to the hospital. The medical reports will be able to pin the employer down. In the case above, minor abuse can be recorded into a notebook and produced later when lodging the case with MOM.
TWC2 often get referred to callers via neighbours aware of an FDW’s situation. We welcome such referrals and hope to encourage more of such civic-minded members to offer support when they can.
