An Indian man from Tamil Nadu has sued his employer after he fell off a lorry on his way to work in Singapore. In this case, the decision was in their favor, which has led to a renewed debate about the working conditions and treatment of migrant laborers in this prosperous country.
Ramalingam Murugan fractured his leg in an accident while on his way to work in a company vehicle. In this case, the court has ordered her employer to pay one hundred thousand Singapore dollars as compensation.
Why did Murugan sue his employer?
In fact, in January 2021, Ramalingam Murugan along with 24 other laborers were on their way to their workplace on the back of a lorry from their dormitory. He said he was then pushed by another labourer, who was in a hurry to escape the rain, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. When the pain in his right knee did not go away, he was taken to the hospital, where he discovered that he had fractured his right leg. He underwent surgery for a fractured leg and was on medical leave for about five months.
After this, in the year 2022, he filed a suit against his employer, Rigel Marine Services, seeking damages of 100,000 Singapore dollars (60,86,955 Indian Rupees). At the time of the accident, he was working as a structural steel and ship painter for Rigel Marine Services, a ship repair company. However, the company denied the claims and said that Murugan slipped and fell while getting down from the lorry. In a ruling made available on Thursday, District Judge Tan May Tee ruled in favor of Murugan, with damages to be assessed later.
Singapore has a bad record in this regard
Singapore, one of the richest and most developed countries in the world, has a similarly poor record in terms of facilities and working conditions for its workers and road accidents. Most of the accidents occur when the laborers are transported from their residence to the place of work, this place of residence is outside the city and from here the laborers are loaded into lorries and taken to the place of work.
Laborers are crammed into lorries, with no place to sit and no seat belts, causing many people to get injured and often die in road accidents every year.
In April, 2021, a lorry carrying 17 laborers was on its way to a work site when it collided with a truck on the expressway, killing 2 people, including an Indian.
In July, 26 people were injured when two lorries carrying laborers collided on a major highway. Singapore is one of the richest and most developed countries in the world. Who have been making huge profits from cheap labor for decades.
Workers’ rights groups have called for a ban on transporting workers in lorries, which has previously been supported by several government agencies. Singapore has a large population of migrant workers, about 1.4 million, a quarter of the population.
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Tags: migrant workers, World news
First published: August 28, 2023, 04:23 IST