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foreign talents
He was swallowing pills when I came upon him. There were 6 or 7 of them, in various shapes and sizes. One pill was very exotic, in the shape of a half-open lotus blossom, it has even the the veins incised on. All the pills came from India, he said, and cost him just over S$200 for one month supply. They are for his chronic back pain. Perhaps sensing someone who'd listen, he went on to say that he has a diploma in civil engineering and came here because an agent, to whom he paid S$7,000, promised him a job as an engineer. He ended up working as a labourer for two years before getting his current job as a construction supervisor.
It's a story I've heard countless times. The story teller maybe from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand or China. Invariably, he'd have paid an agent between S$6,000 to S$8,000 to come to Singapore. Almost certainly he'd have borrowed money from family and relatives, sometimes from the whole village, to afford the agent's fee and the fares here. Being unskilled, since whatever qualification he gained in the native country is not recognized here, he would be given one 2-year contract as labourer. He'd have to slaved days and nights for that 2 years, the first year solely to clear his debts, and the second year to accumulate some savings. I remember once telling some of these workers that they must go back and be sure to tell the others not to fall into the same trap. They only smiled. Maybe they're scared of losing face. Maybe, especially for those who managed to get the contract renewed, the pay here is really much much more than what they'd ever hope to gain there.
Still. Typically, he'd be paid slightly over S$10 a day initially. He'd want to do OT but he'd be paid 1x, not 1.5x or 2x whatever the Employment Act says, even if he works on Sundays and public holidays and long into the night. Out of the meagre pay, the employer might deduct S$100 to S$150 for lodging and foods. As far as I know, in order to cut down the cost of living, most workers would opt to cater their own food. Their day typically starts at 5am, 6am as the dormitory is far out in Tuas or Woodlands and the company transport will drop workers at various worksites. Lunch is lots of rice and a handful of curried vegetables and a little curried meats for the Indians and Bangladeshis; lots of sticky rice and bits of fish with fermented fish sauce and chillies for the Thais and maybe the Burmese; lots of rice and a little boiled vegetables for the chinese. The working day usually ends at 10pm. But they'd have to travel back to the dormitory, where preparing food for dinner and the next day's lunch, laundry, etc will take them past midnight or 1,2am. And it goes on and on until the 2 year contract is up. I think it's not hard to imagine how one of these workers - not having enough food and rest, possibly worrying about money and conditions at home - could become victim to accident at work.
He was swallowing pills when I came upon him. There were 6 or 7 of them, in various shapes and sizes. One pill was very exotic, in the shape of a half-open lotus blossom, it has even the the veins incised on. All the pills came from India, he said, and cost him just over S$200 for one month supply. They are for his chronic back pain. Perhaps sensing someone who'd listen, he went on to say that he has a diploma in civil engineering and came here because an agent, to whom he paid S$7,000, promised him a job as an engineer. He ended up working as a labourer for two years before getting his current job as a construction supervisor.
It's a story I've heard countless times. The story teller maybe from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand or China. Invariably, he'd have paid an agent between S$6,000 to S$8,000 to come to Singapore. Almost certainly he'd have borrowed money from family and relatives, sometimes from the whole village, to afford the agent's fee and the fares here. Being unskilled, since whatever qualification he gained in the native country is not recognized here, he would be given one 2-year contract as labourer. He'd have to slaved days and nights for that 2 years, the first year solely to clear his debts, and the second year to accumulate some savings. I remember once telling some of these workers that they must go back and be sure to tell the others not to fall into the same trap. They only smiled. Maybe they're scared of losing face. Maybe, especially for those who managed to get the contract renewed, the pay here is really much much more than what they'd ever hope to gain there.
Still. Typically, he'd be paid slightly over S$10 a day initially. He'd want to do OT but he'd be paid 1x, not 1.5x or 2x whatever the Employment Act says, even if he works on Sundays and public holidays and long into the night. Out of the meagre pay, the employer might deduct S$100 to S$150 for lodging and foods. As far as I know, in order to cut down the cost of living, most workers would opt to cater their own food. Their day typically starts at 5am, 6am as the dormitory is far out in Tuas or Woodlands and the company transport will drop workers at various worksites. Lunch is lots of rice and a handful of curried vegetables and a little curried meats for the Indians and Bangladeshis; lots of sticky rice and bits of fish with fermented fish sauce and chillies for the Thais and maybe the Burmese; lots of rice and a little boiled vegetables for the chinese. The working day usually ends at 10pm. But they'd have to travel back to the dormitory, where preparing food for dinner and the next day's lunch, laundry, etc will take them past midnight or 1,2am. And it goes on and on until the 2 year contract is up. I think it's not hard to imagine how one of these workers - not having enough food and rest, possibly worrying about money and conditions at home - could become victim to accident at work.
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