- Joined
- Aug 8, 2008
- Messages
- 3,619
- Points
- 48
http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,247459,00.html?
M'sians cross Causeway daily on hire expectations
Woodlands on weekday mornings is a hive of wheeling and dealing in illegal workers
By Zaihan Mohamed Yusof and Chai Hung Yin
July 04, 2010
On the surface, the morning scene at Woodlands Centre seems innocent.
But look closer, spend more time in the mornings there and a pattern emerges – an illicit trade in cheap and illegal workers.
Dig deeper and you'll notice that the groups are organised into skill sets. Plumbers gather at one corner, plasterers at another.
Every half hour or so, a truck meanders into the Woodlands Centre carpark. A man approaches the workers. A firm handshake and a deal is struck.
The workers have landed a job. Each worker will pocket about $80 for the day’s work.
Woodlands Centre is a marketplace for manpower.
The illegal workers are from Malaysia and arrive in Woodlands on social visit passes. Most rent rooms in Johor Baru and wait around Woodlands daily for work.
Some claim to have done it for years.
While the trade may seem harmless, both workers and employers risk stiff penalties of fines and jail terms. And should anything happen to the workers, such as being hurt on the job, they will have to deal with it themselves.
M'sians cross Causeway daily on hire expectations
Woodlands on weekday mornings is a hive of wheeling and dealing in illegal workers
By Zaihan Mohamed Yusof and Chai Hung Yin
July 04, 2010
On the surface, the morning scene at Woodlands Centre seems innocent.
But look closer, spend more time in the mornings there and a pattern emerges – an illicit trade in cheap and illegal workers.
Dig deeper and you'll notice that the groups are organised into skill sets. Plumbers gather at one corner, plasterers at another.
Every half hour or so, a truck meanders into the Woodlands Centre carpark. A man approaches the workers. A firm handshake and a deal is struck.
The workers have landed a job. Each worker will pocket about $80 for the day’s work.
Woodlands Centre is a marketplace for manpower.
The illegal workers are from Malaysia and arrive in Woodlands on social visit passes. Most rent rooms in Johor Baru and wait around Woodlands daily for work.
Some claim to have done it for years.
While the trade may seem harmless, both workers and employers risk stiff penalties of fines and jail terms. And should anything happen to the workers, such as being hurt on the job, they will have to deal with it themselves.
