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Tag: Jolovan Wham

  • Jolovan Wham Ordered To Pay $6,063 Costs To Attorney-General After Failed Attempt To Quash Police Warning Against Him

    Jolovan Wham Ordered To Pay $6,063 Costs To Attorney-General After Failed Attempt To Quash Police Warning Against Him

    Civil activist Jolovan Wham has been ordered to pay S$6,063 in costs to the Attorney-General for his failed bid to quash a police warning that had been issued against him.

    The police warning came after Mr Wham breached rules against foreigners participating in events at Hong Lim Park without a permit, several years ago.

    The member of non-governmental group Community Action Network and executive director of HOME, a migrant worker help group, had organised a candlelight vigil to show support for protestors in Hong Kong fighting election restrictions in October 2014.

    The event was publicised on Facebook, but despite the condition that foreigners and permanent residents could not take part without a permit, some foreigners still showed up, leading to investigations against Mr Wham.

    In March last year, under the direction of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), Mr Wham was verbally warned.

    However, he refused to sign the Notice of Warning without having a copy to consult his lawyer first. The police declined to give him a copy of the document.

    Two months later, the police followed up with a letter saying the warning had been delivered and the matter closed.

    Concerned that the warning would stick in his record and be used against him in future, Mr Wham went to court to try to quash the police warning under a judicial review.

    In dismissing his suit last December, High Court judge Woo Bih Li said that such warnings are nothing more than an opinion of the relevant authority that the recipient has committed an offence, and have no legal effect on the recipient.

    “It does not and cannot amount to a legally binding pronouncement of guilt or finding of fact.

    “Only a court of law has the power to make such a pronouncement or finding,” the judge had said.

    The court is not entitled to treat such warnings as antecedents or aggravating factors for subsequent convictions, Justice Woo said in dismissing the suit.

    The judge also said the police’s handling of the matter had left much to be desired, while noting, among other things, that the Notice of Warning was undated and employed inconsistent wording.

    After the court issued its judgment in December last year, a spokesman for the AGC said: “AGC and the Singapore Police Force are reviewing the process by which stern warnings are administered and the use of the notice, in light of the High Court’s comments in the judgment.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Maids Should Be Protected Under The Employment Act

    Maids Should Be Protected Under The Employment Act

    We thank Mr Leonard Poh for his feedback in “To promote domestic workers’ welfare, share anecdotes, best practices” (March 13).

    Our study was conducted based on a sample of respondents stratified to reflect the major populations of migrant domestic workers here as indicated by published numbers. Statistical differences were tested using parametric and non-parametric techniques.

    Statistical relationships were also examined with correlation and regression analyses. From our calculations, we concluded that 670 respondents were sufficient to achieve statistical significance in our results.

    HOME acknowledges that in the 10 years we have been campaigning for migrant domestic workers, there have been improvements in their welfare and rights. Still, we have a long way to go in ensuring equal rights and adequate protections for them.

    For example, our respondents worked an average of 13 hours a day, with 10 per cent found to sleep in the kitchen, living room or bomb shelter. More than half did not even have a copy of their contracts on them.

    Positive mental health can happen only when employers respect their employees’ privacy and give them regular time off and rest days. However, domestic workers should not have to depend on the goodwill of employers to enjoy basic rights.

    The Manpower Ministry should include them in the Employment Act so benefits such as sick leave, public holidays and limits on working hours are not left to employers to decide.

    If employees in other occupations will not accept the denial of such rights, why should domestic workers be discriminated against in this way?

     

    Jolovan Wham, Executive Director, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Interior Design Firm Partners HOME To Raise Funds For Cancer-Stricken Bangladeshi Employee

    Interior Design Firm Partners HOME To Raise Funds For Cancer-Stricken Bangladeshi Employee

    SINGAPORE: Things were looking well for Mr Alam Shah, who had found a job as a construction supervisor at an interior design firm, after working here for four years as a manual labourer.

    The 31-year-old was two months into his new job, earning S$1,200 a month, with a bride waiting for him in Bangladesh, until one word shattered his dreams: Cancer. Doctors gave him less than a year to live, if the disease was left untreated.

    Other employers might have sent Mr Alam, a work-permit holder, home once he was deemed medically fit to travel, but his employer, Archetype, decided otherwise. It is now trying to raise funds for his medical treatment, estimated to cost about S$60,000.

    The firm will dig into its profits to help Mr Alam, but has also roped in the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME). It is raising funds through HOME’s account on charity portal SG Gives — something the non-governmental organisation said was a first for an employer.

    Mr Alam underwent surgery immediately after he was diagnosed with Stage 3 brain cancer early last month. However, doctors managed to remove only 40 per cent of the tumour. Mr Alam would have to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy to try to stop the rest of the cancer from spreading, which might prolong his life by up to 10 years.

    Mr Alam is covered under medical insurance that employers are required to buy for their work-pass holders, but the S$15,000 policy was only enough to cover his three-day stay at the Singapore General Hospital’s intensive care unit. Chemotherapy alone would cost up to S$30,000.

    Archetype operations manager Melissa Tan said the firm hopes to raise about S$100,000, which would pay for the treatments, follow-up care in Bangladesh and to help his ageing parents financially.

    The company had approached various non-governmental organisations and Government channels to enlist help for Mr Alam. However, they turned the firm down and advised it to send him back to Bangladesh.

    “Even if we sent him home, he would still have no money to pay for treatment,” said Ms Tan.

    So far, Archetype, which Ms Tan said could not afford to cover all of the costs, has raised about S$2,200.

    A check with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed that employers are required to buy mandatory medical insurance of at least S$15,000 per foreign worker, which provides basic cover for hospitalisation expenses.

    An MOM spokesperson said under the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations, employers are responsible for the costs of providing medical treatment for their work-permit holders, regardless of whether the conditions are work-related.

    “The Government does not provide healthcare subsidies to foreigners. If the work-permit holder requires long-term medical care arising from a non-work-related ailment, the employer may send the foreign worker home to continue treatment at the worker’s own expense, once the worker’s condition has stabilised and the worker is deemed medically fit to travel,” the spokesperson added.

    HOME executive director Jolovan Wham said Mr Alam’s case raises the question of whether the medical coverage provided to work-permit holders is comprehensive enough. “This is definitely something we need to look into again as these workers play an important role in this country,” he said.

    As of June, there are 980,800 work-permit holders in Singapore, making up 17.9 per cent of the total population.

    For more details on how to make a donation for Mr Alam, send an email to [email protected] or [email protected].