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1st of May: Remember the 8-hour Work-day Struggle
26-Apr-2002
INTERNATIONAL WORKER'S DAY: 1886 - 2002 On 1st May, we commemorate the priceless achievement of the 8-hour work-day and the struggle for decent work and wages. It is 116 years since the Chicago workers paid with their lives for this victory of the working-class. Why are workers working long-hours in wealthy singapore? Why is unemployment about 5 percent in Singapore? Is it possible to have a 40-hour work-week, equal pay for equal work without discrimination? Think Centre's Mayday message will answer this questions soon!

ICFTU Launches Campaign: You Have Rights!
02-May-2001
And workers everywhere need to know these rights. Which is why we have chosen May Day to launch the world-wide ILO campaign on the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in workplaces around the world. We want to put this campaign at the centre of global trade union action for workers' rights. We ask that you reproduce and disseminate this information as widely as possible, to give maximum publicity to the rights enshrined in the ILO Declaration.

Singapore manufacturing output slows
01-Jan-2004
Industrial output grew only 7.7 percent in November compared with a 19.3 percent rise the previous month

Singapore PM warns pilots against labour action
04-Jan-2004
The Airline Pilots Association of Singapore sacked its leaders in November for caving to wage cuts and layoffs imposed by the airline - the government owns 56 percent of the airline. The government is concerned that a dispute involving the pilots' union could spread to other labour unions while unemployment hovers at 17-year highs.

S Korean Migrant Workers Demonstrate
05-Jan-2004
Undocumented migrant workers protest in S Korea against attempts to detain those of them trying to organise.

Nike: Global Compact Violator
29-Jun-2001
CorpWatch Releases Expose on Global Compact Violators - CorpWatch is investigating corporations that signed onto the UN Global Compact, an agreement between the United Nations, big business and some non-governmental groups. CorpWatch finds that giant shoe manufacturer Nike has repeatedly failed to uphold labor rights, including the right free association and the right to collective bargaining, in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Mexico and other countries. This violates one of the nine principles contained in the Compact -- principles that Nike CEO Phil Knight pledged to uphold last July when he publicly endorsed the Compact while sharing the podium with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Nike made a commitment to respect this right in 1997 when it signed the Fair Labor Association voluntary workplace code of conduct along with other giant shoe and garment manufacturers like Reebok, Adidas, Liz Claiborne and Patagonia. This article covers the period since 1997. Tim Connor of NikeWatch in Australia reports in an article based on an in-depth report produced for Global Exchange.

Job Ads in Singapore Fall as Economy Slows Down
06-Jul-2001
Job advertisements in dominant publisher Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) fell 45 per cent on the year in May, following a 43 per cent decline in April, one of its newspapers said on Wednesday.

Hewlett-Packard to Cut 6,000 Jobs
27-Jul-2001
Hewlett-Packard a bellwether of consumer spending, said today (27/07/01) that it would cut 6,000 jobs and that its revenue for the current quarter would be markedly lower than expected, with the company attributing the changes to further deterioration of economic conditions worldwide.

Global Compact: 'Discrimination is Everybody's Business'
02-Sep-2001
The dialogue will highlight private-sector initiatives to promote equality and inclusion in and out of the workplace, and look at obstacles faced in fighting discrimination.

Unemployment Close to 5 Per Cent For Less Educated
17-Sep-2001
Unemployment rate increasing above 3%. Unemployment rate for less educated at 4.8%. Unemployment rate for degree holders at 1.9 %. Around 16,000 workers on a short working week or temporary lay-off. "Unemployment is likely to rise further in the months ahead as the full impact of the economic downturn and job cuts take effect.... For every 10 job seekers, there were only six job openings -- in contrast to over 20 openings prior to the Asian crisis," said the report. Employers prefer younger workers willing to accept low salaries.

Undergraduates Left High and Dry in Singapore Job Search
07-Oct-2001
SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (AFP) - Like thousands of Singapore students, and thousands more throughout Asia who saw Singapore as an employment beacon, Li Wei Ping is learning the harsh reality that a degree in 2001 does not guarantee a job.

Struggling Singapore Negotiating Trade Pact with U.S.
23-Nov-2001
Labor, environmental issues stall agreement with island nation - Friday, November 23, 2001

Foreign Domestic Workers Discriminated and Abused as Unequal
01-Dec-2001
Foreign Domestic workers are discriminated and abused as unequal. Can a maid be equal in dignity to a Singaporean? The Universal Declaration of Human rights says all human beings are born equal. Do singaporean recognize and respect each other as equals? If not, why? Most Singaporean have not read the UDHR - Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Ministry of Education should make it compulsory reading for all students both children and youth. Read on.

Countries may Unite Against Pay Cuts for Domestic Workers
02-Dec-2001
Wednesday, November 28 2001 - Joint action by Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines is being considered to try to stop Hong Kong from cutting the minimum wage of domestic workers.

Malaysia: Protests at Pekan Nenas Camp
19-Dec-2001
Demands immediate independent inquiry.

Migrant Workers: Litany of Abuses
24-Dec-2001
Employers keep maids' passports to prevent them from running away. Some maids get no days off and are prohibited from leaving their employers' home. Some women have been beaten and raped by employers, and some have fallen to their deaths while washing windows in high-rise apartments.

"Decent Work Deficit"
03-Jan-2002
The ILO is exploring "Decent Work Deficit" - what about Singapore? Singapore should explore "Decent Work Deficit" as we struggle to overcome the economic downturn. What are this deficits in Singapore? We should make a honest audit of the reality and analysis the deficit - to make genuine changes. We need real social dialogue - not only feedbacks and discussions among selected elites - to realise our dream of a just and democractic society where everyone is respected as equal. Everyone should have a decent work and fair wage. In Singapore income insecurity and unemployment is becoming a growing problem. What is the answer - is it more social protections? Read on.

Unlawful and Discrupulous - the Sacking of Journalists and Workers from The Sun Newspaper
16-Jan-2002
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) condemns the sacking of around 40 jounalists and workers from The Sun newspaper, which belongs to The Sun Media Corporations. Suaram views the action of the owners as unlawful, unscrupulous and in bad faith (mala-fide).

Indonesia: Running From Reebok's Hypocrisy
16-Feb-2002
Right till the end of January, Dita Sari was preparing to fly from her home near Jakarta to Salt Lake City to bask today in the admiration of assorted do-gooders and celebrities mustered by Reebok. The occasion is the 13th annual Human Rights Awards, overseen by a board that includes Jimmy Carter and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo.

Globalization Has to Take Human Rights into Account
29-Jan-2002
Linking human rights with ethics and globalization represents a connection whose time has come. And yet the task is daunting. Every day brings further evidence of the unacceptable divide in our world; the harsh statistics of millions living in extreme poverty and enduring conflict.

Indonesian Police Attack Honda Workers
11-Apr-2002
Assault occurred during peaceful strike over wage negotiations. Reports indicate that during strike action at Honda Prospect Motor, in North Jakarta, police attacked the peaceful strikers, injuring 30, and leaving 5 in serious condition.

10,000 Japanese workers take their pressing demands to the streets
11-Apr-2002
A 50-year record high unemployment rate, anti-union reforms in the public sector, and an increase of social insecurity in the country have prompted Japan’s largest trade union to take unprecedented protest action against its government.

The Globalisation of International Migration: Asian and European Experiences
20-Apr-2002
The conference aim to address one of the major issues affecting the regions of Asia and Europe today: migration flows and the management of these patterns. Read Think Centre's concrete policy recommendation.

April 28 Marks Workers' Memorial Day
27-Apr-2002
GLOBAL: Two million workers lose their lives every year due to occupational injury or disease - that's over 5,000 a day. In Singapore 2001, more then 3700 workers were involved in industrial accidents, including 52 fatal cases.

Decent Work and Wages for All: Labour Day Message By Think Centre
01-May-2002
Working long hours, Singapore workers have become mere "cogs" trapped in the survival struggle to maintain their livelihood. Women are generally paid less for the same job, and those born with physical or mental defects are shunned. Older workers are foremost rejected at job interviews. When economic growth fell, workers' Central Provident Fund (CPF) pay was cut. However, taxes go up in the form of GST. The poor are voiceless, hidden, unseen and unheard in this wealthy island state.

Singapore Jobless Rate Hits Three-Year High
30-Apr-2002
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's jobless rate crept up in March to a three-year high and may rise further as the export-driven city state struggles through its worst recession in four decades.

Want to Work: Sign away your rights
01-May-2002
The "Contract of Overtime" signed by migrant workers in a nursing home - for $400 per month, 11 hours work per day, all OT salaries is deduct for food & accomodation, and 1 rest-day per month. This company works on 12 shiftwork [daily 11 hours actual work - with breaks ]. Workers clock around 70 hours of work per week.

Singapore Workers Struggle As Iron Rice Bowls Vanish
02-May-2002
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Fred Cordeiro, 38, is back at school these days learning how to manage computer databases but life has already taught the former bank vice president one hard lesson. The "iron rice bowl" of guaranteed employment for white collar workers in Singapore, suffering its worst recession in four decades, is history

Asia's Jobless Woes Stir Social Safety Net Debate
02-May-2002
TOKYO (Reuters) - Like America and Europe before them, Asia's Tiger economies are finding it's not easy to turn shipbuilders into software salesmen or dockers into doctors.

Core Labour rights in Singapore
01-Jun-2002
Singapore has ratified two of the ILO core labour conventions. Various legal provisions – many of which dating from colonial rule – restrict rights, particularly with regard to trade union registration and to freedom of association in the public sector. Salary gaps between women and men persist and women continue to carry out a disproportionate share of low-paid jobs. Malays, who constitute approximately 15 percent of the total population, do not on average have the same educational or income levels of the other major groups in the population.

Racial Discrimination against Migrant Workers in Hong Kong
05-Aug-2002
Racial discrimination has long existed in Hong Kong, but the Hong Kong government has repeatedly asserted that it has responded sufficiently to the issue. However, human rights advocates believe otherwise, especially in light of the government?s obligations as a signatory of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the grim, real-life experiences of migrant workers. Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong have minimum wage and could organized themselves into associations and unions. But racial discrimination exits. Why?

Human Rights of Migrants in Detention
06-Aug-2002
Request for information regarding the situation of migrants in detention transmitted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. The Rapporteur requests organisations to provide relevant information and materials on the issue of migrants in detention.

Justice to Migrant Deportees in Malaysia
06-Sep-2002
Hong Kong migrant groups hold solidarity protest inside Malaysian Consulate. More than 50 migrants from the Philippines and Indonesia including local advocates in Hong Kong protested today against the inhuman treatment and death of migrant deportees in Malaysia.

Singapore Faces Jobless Surge
16-Sep-2002
More and more Singaporeans must look forward to a jobless future, the government of the island state has warned. A new report suggests that despite the country's nascent economic recovery, the unemployment rate could well jump from 4.1 percent to 5.5 percent in the second half of this year.

INDONESIAN WORKERS STAGE MASS RALLIES
02-Oct-2002
One of the largest-ever nationwide labour rallies took place in Indonesia (September 19) in protest at government attempts to introduce labour legislation that would seriously curtail workers' and trade union rights in the country.

Labour Disputes Hit Record High in Strike-Free Singapore
04-Oct-2002
Labour disputes nearly doubled to a record high of 19,378 last year in Singapore where strikes are a rarity, the Manpower Ministry said Thursday, Oct 3. Almost all of the disputes involved non-unionised workers demanding unpaid salaries, according to ministry figures obtained by AFP.

Indonesia: 500 Women Workers end strike
21-Oct-2002
The hostage situation at the closed PT Hyungsung Indonesia factory has ended after five days, with workers agreeing to allow their South Korean boss and his family to leave after being promised severance pay in accordance with manpower regulations.

Singapore jobless rate at decades high as economy slows
19-Nov-2002
Singapore's unemployment rate rose to its highest level since the mid-1980s in September, and could keep rising as the economy teeters on the brink of another recession and factories shift to cheaper locations around Asia.

Study Shows Stressed-out Singaporeans Give Sex a Miss
18-Nov-2002
Work is killing Singaporeans' sex drive. Too stressed from their jobs, they have little drive to make love at the end of the day, a study shows.

18 December International Migrant Day
13-Dec-2002
18th December 1990 is the date the UN adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Think Centre hopes the Singapore government will sign and ratify the UN Convention on Migrant Rights soon.

Singapore's Unemployment Woes
19-Dec-2002
Red flags are being raised in Singapore over the problem of structural employment. A recent report by investment bank UBS Warburg estimates that about 30% of Singapore's unemployment is structural and stems from the progressive downsizing of the electronics sector and consolidation of some service industries.

Recession in Singapore puts dependence on foreign workers in peril
03-Jan-2003
SINGAPORE: The prolonged recession in this affluent South-east Asian city state has begun to bite into the migrant labour market, affecting highly paid financial sector and information technology professionals but hurting foreign domestic workers the most.

MALAYSIA: Irene Fernandez Trial Continues
18-Jan-2003
Labour activist Fernandez was charged under Section 8A(2) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for "maliciously publishing false news" after she released a memorandum at a press conference in August 1995 about alleged torture and deaths in the camps for illegal immigrants. If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to RM20,000. She is currently on bail.

NEW ILO REPORT ON GLOBAL EMPLOYMENT TRENDS 2003
18-Feb-2003
World unemployment rate continues to rise, reaching a new high of 180 Million. The situation is deteriorating with no improvements in global employment trend.

Hong Kong domestics seek UN help
02-Mar-2003
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong accused the government on Thursday of making them a scapegoat for the territory's economic woes with a plan to impose a new levy.

Singapore: No More Mass Public Layoffs?
18-Mar-2003
Have we heard that line before? Assurance given by the Labour chief could just turn-out to be another empty promise. Last month, the PSA Corp. cut 800 jobs and the HDB cut 900 jobs by offering early retirement.

Bell tolls for Singapore Inc as iron rice bowl cracks
18-Mar-2003
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan last week rang the death knell for Singapore Inc when he declared that the civil service and state-run companies would soon hand over many of their functions to the private sector.

Of Maids and Monsters
22-Apr-2003
Sponging down the family car at the crack of dawn and preparing supper for their employers - all in a day's work. Serving a gamut of roles from house-keeper to nanny to cook to even extra help in their employers' businesses, the foreign maids here have become an indispensable feature of many Singaporean families.

Budget 2003 a slap in the face
04-Apr-2003
The government has called upon Singaporeans to lower expectations and accept lower wages and longer work hours. If you do not work then you do not eat, is the unspoken law.

PM Goh's unfulfilled promises
11-Apr-2003
PM Goh vowed that he would come up with fresh economic strategies that will ensure jobs for both graduates as well as the less-skilled. During November 2001, General Election, he vowed to ensure jobs for the unemployed.

Malaysia: Workers' patience wears thin
13-May-2003
The prospect of a wage increase looks bleak for a very large segment of Malaysia's 10.5 million workers in spite of their persistent demand for a minimum wage, or at least a poverty-line wage. The government asserts that any increase in wages would hurt the economy badly.

Singapore: Unemployment Increasing
02-Jun-2003
Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive but what they conceal is vital.

S'pore: Report on foreign labour irks locals
05-Aug-2003
FOR the first time, the government has released figures on the extraordinarily large influx of foreign workers during the booming 90s and the sharp subsequent cutback when job creation plunged.

CPF: Let Singaporeans have their money back
01-Jul-2003
More people are becoming unemployed, with mounting financial defficulties, the Singapore Government has deemed it fit to deprive them of funds that were in fact the worker's hard-earned income.

CPF - LET US HAVE OUR MONEY BACK
14-Jul-2003
An unpublished letter sent to ST Forums by Mr.Goh Wee Soon. The PAP Government's refusal to allow needy Singaporeans to have access to their hard earned CPF funds comes as no surprise to me.

Singapore to see another 20,000 jobless
15-Jul-2003
Singapore's unemployed and new graduates face a bleak future looking for work as another 20,000 are expected to join the jobless queues this year in the wake of the sharpest ever slump in GDP in the June quarter.

Mothers from China Face Harsh Rules in Singapore
26-Oct-2003
Along the narrow corridors of Pearl Center, a busy shopping complex in Singapore's Chinatown, women from China sit outside foot reflexology shops and massage parlors, beckoning customers to come in.

Jobless grads seek new paths
16-Sep-2003
THE process of remaking Singapore may be going faster, but nowhere can it match the speed that rising unemployment is changing young Singaporeans.

Rise of the `new poor' in Singapore
08-Nov-2003
Singapore, once a haven of full employment, is now grappling with the rise of a new phenomenon, the `new poor', middle-income people who find themselves in a financial bind.

Singapore unemployment hits 17-year high
09-Nov-2003
SINGAPORE'S unemployment rate hit a 17-year high in the third quarter, with the seasonally-adjusted jobless rate rising to 5.9 per cent at the end of September from 4.5 per cent in the previous quarter, exceeding the previous high of 4.6 per cent a year ago.

Industrial peace must be achieved with justice!
01-Dec-2003
"A global economy in which people do not have the right to organize will lack social legitimacy. People organizing themselves to make their voices heard exercise a fundamental human right and the most important development right." - Dr. Juan Somavia, Director General of the ILO

Singapore-owned telco may cut 2500 jobs at Optus
21-Dec-2003
Singapore-owned telco may cut 2500 jobs at Optus in Australia. Reports suggested 2,500 jobs were at risk under plans to move call centres to Malaysia.

Singapore jobless rate rising
27-Dec-2003
The unemployment rate hit a 17-year high of 5.9 per cent in September 2003, or a total of 111,100 Singaporeans. The Business Times reported that jobless rate may have already exceeded a record high of six per cent posted in March 1986.

SIA: Industrial dispute prompts mass resignations
19-Jan-2004
Singapore's national carrier - Singapore Airlines - may be about to lose hundreds of its pilots. Many have already threatened to resign in protest against pay cuts and proposed changes to the country's labour laws.Yet it appears the dispute is not just about pay cuts - some analysts say it's the government's way to rein in what it sees as a "rogue union" - the Airline Pilots Association of Singapore or ALPAS.

Kuan Yew is still quick to act
16-Mar-2004
MONTHS away from his son becoming premier, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew has acted to revoke the permanent resident status of a Malaysian citizen for “instigating” a labour dispute.

MP questions SM's intervention in SIA saga
16-Mar-2004
VETERAN backbencher Tan Cheng Bock yesterday asked why it was necessary for Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to intervene in the Singapore Airlines pilots saga, when younger Government ministers were capable of handling the issue.

Singapore sees record high bankruptcy in 2003
23-Feb-2004
Figures released by Singapore's Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office on Tuesday showed that an all-time high of 4,317 people in Singapore went bankrupt in 2003, up 25 percent from a year ago.

Is Singapore's Labour Policy Going Anywhere?
04-Mar-2004
Over the backdrop of the feel-good speech of Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen on further relaxing foreign worker employment policy (especially for the skilled workers) to meet local emerging demands on 24 Feb Tuesday 2004, I would like to raise a few inter-related pertinent questions.

Unemployment really going down?
20-Apr-2004
We might have been taken for a ride! There may not be even a single new job created last month(Dec 2003).

End to promise of a secure life
20-Apr-2004
OVER the past 10 years, dramatic changes have pushed Singaporeans to a new reality that says they can no longer depend on the government to protect or provide for them.

Thailand: Statement on May Day 1st 2004
30-Apr-2004
May 1st of each year has been regarded as the most important day for workers all around the world. And it is necessary for the workers to study the origin and background to join in this day's activity with class awareness.

CPF - The Safety Net That Is Not There In Your Hour Of Need
29-Jun-2004
They tell you your CPF money is safe from the banks. So safe in fact that one does not have access to CPF funds even when one is unemployed.

HDB: Downgraders' nightmare
29-Jun-2004
HDB has stopped giving out market rate loans and cash-strapped borrowers get the cold shoulder from banks

Temporary Workers Become Permanent Sector
12-Sep-2004
The acceptance of temporary foreign workers as a permanent low - paid sector of Singapore's working class meant that the state no longer has to concern itself with the generational reproduction of this sector of the population.

Medisave a big burden for the low-income
30-Sep-2004
Medisave contribution rates have increased from 3 per cent in 1992 to 8 per cent now for those aged 45 and over. With the unemployed already finding it hard to get by, should we be adding to their stress by threatening to take them to court?

Rich-poor divide is widening
13-Nov-2004
More than a third of the working population does not earn enough to pay income tax. A tax policy that progressively gives more rewards to the richest and hits the poorest may lead to even greater income inequality.

Home Ownership Plus Education Scheme
12-Dec-2004
The Home Ownership Plus Education Scheme [HOPE] will surely be appreciated by those in poverty but its hard to understand why it discriminates against those who need it most - poor families with more then two children and without two GCE '0' level. What other schemes can these families turn to?

Having kids can cost some mothers their jobs
19-Apr-2005
One woman returned to work after maternity leave to find she no longer had a job, while another was sacked two weeks after she told her employer she was pregnant.

MediShield premium a tremendous increase
26-Dec-2004
In the 14 years since MediShield started, the fund has built up a surplus of $524 million. Why then is there a need to increase premiums up to 10 times for each member?

Singapore's jobless rate rises unexpectedly to 3.9%
24-May-2005
Singapore will have to digest some big planned job cuts in the coming months, including the redundancies of 5,500 workers at Maxtor, a hard disk drive maker, which is moving production to China.

SINGAPORE: Bankruptcies rise to new high
03-Feb-2005
As of Dec 31, the number of bankrupt people hit a new record high of 21,434. Bankruptcy orders were made against 4317 individuals and 167 firms.

Singapore unemployment rate rises
16-Feb-2005
More graduates in 4th quarter run into a slowing economy.

Provide better protection for pregnant women in workforce
03-Aug-2009
Pregnant worker terminated by MNC with no maternity benefits payout. Employment Act still unable to protect pregnant women workers adequately.

Rich-Poor divide continues to widen
24-Jun-2005
There are 48,500 millionaires in Singapore. The gap between rich and poor continues to increase after the economic crisis. A third of the working population does not earn enough to pay income tax.

An Honest Day's Pay for an Honest Day's Work?
31-Jan-2006
To what extent will pro-employer policies be pursued at the expense of workers? Changes to the Employment Act passed by Parliament on Sep 21, 2004, should raise alarm bells for Singapore workers.

S'pore, rich neighbor and user of RI maids
09-Feb-2006
Indonesia domestic workers are not paid their wage for the first 6 to 12 months as its given to the Employment Agency as fee. Singapore's 2004 per capita income is at US$24 220 but there is no minimum allowable wage; no standard contract for foreign domestic workers. Why?

Singapore rejects calls for maids' mandatory day off
10-Mar-2006
By excluding maids from its Employment Act, Singapore's labour laws fails to comply with international law.

S'pore: Play Explores Migrant Workers Suffering
26-Jun-2006
The economic vulnerability of the migrants exposes them to social problems which form the crux of “Mobile.” About 150,000 women work as maids in Singapore, most of them from impoverished villages in the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

MOM to the aid of mums
31-Jul-2006
PREGNANT women who are unfairly sacked even before their sixth month of pregnancy — after which it becomes illegal for an employer to do so — can seek recourse from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Standard contracts on hiring maids launched
31-Jul-2006
While the employment contract stipulates the minimum one day off entitlement for the maid in a month, if the day off is not taken, the employer would have to compensate the maid in cash.

Wan Soon Construction fined for non-payment of salary
17-Oct-2006
Wan Soon Construction was convicted and fine for non-payment of salary. The company faced 283 charges for failing to pay salaries to Indian migrant workers in 2004. In 2002, More then 200 Indian migrant workers protest against the non-payment.

CIVIL SOCIETY-TRADE UNION: POSITION PAPER ON THE RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS
15-Jan-2007
The Vientiane Action Programme (VAP), under the goal of promoting human rights, includes a programme area dedicated to the “elaboration of an instrument for the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers”. The commitment of ASEAN member States to such an instrument was recently re-affirmed at Cebu with the ASEAN Declaration on the protection and promotion of the rights of Migrant Workers.

ASEAN member states urged to ratify UN Human Rights Treaties and ILO Core Conventions
25-Jan-2007
Task Force on ASEAN Migrant Workers, FORUM-ASIA, and Migrant Forum in Asia jointly submitted a written statement to ASEAN member states to appeal for the ratification and implementation of the UN Treaties and ILO Conventions.

Protect, don't dismiss, pregnant women workers
08-Apr-2007
The rising number of pregnant employees seeking redress through MOM for unfair dismissal, with 90 per cent of claims substantiated, is evidence of discriminatory and unfair practices.

Low-wage workers do not contribute to CPF
23-Jul-2007
FOR sweeping and mopping two storeys of a Raffles Place building four hours a day, 51-year-old Michael Chan pockets $380 a month —about half of his monthly expenses like food and transport.

Statement on the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers
11-Apr-2007
ASEAN is forging ahead with the elaboration of an instrument for the protection and promotion of the rights of Migrant Workers. ASEAN needs to move forward with the harmonization of labour legislation in-line with regional integration.

THE EMPLOYMENT ACT REFORMS INCLUDE DOMESTIC WORKERS
22-Nov-2008
The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) is calling for the Ministry of Manpower to include domestic workers under the Employment Act and to implement major reforms to protect the rights of migrant workers in Singapore.

Blanket recruitment
11-Apr-2010
Singapore: Jobs are increasingly available but ironically many of the positions are in search for more foreigners to fill rather than Singaporeans.

Singapore: Violation of Trade Union Rights 2007
06-Jul-2008
Under an amendment to the Trade Unions Act adopted on April 20, 2004, union members no longer have the power to accept or reject collective agreements negotiated between their union representatives and the employer.

Job losses in recession-hit Singapore
04-Jun-2009
Some 8,100 workers were either laid off in the fourth quarter of last year or facing retrenchments over the next few months.

Tighten labour laws to protect older, vulnerable workers
23-Jul-2009
Older unemployed workers in Singapore continue to face discriminatory hiring practices with less than adequate protection under current labour laws.

Singapore: CSO-TU make recommendations on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers
29-Apr-2009
Civil Society Organisations and Trade Unions Join Forces for the first time to Table Recommendations on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers to the Ministry of Manpower

Singapore: 5.9% or 116,300 are jobless
01-Dec-2009
Half the 1.99 million working Singaporeans and permanent residents earn less than $2600. And the majority of workers who found new jobs this year were hired on contracts for less than three months.