After paying $6,000 to employment agencies Bangladeshi ship welder Mohammad Ali finally found work in a Singapore shipyard. His joy was short lived when he was soon laid off due to the worldwide economic downturn. However, things where to turn much worse for Ali. To stop him complaining to the authorities about unpaid wages his employer locked him and 100 other workers in a cage for almost 3 months. He was finally released when a local workers rights group reported the incident to the authorities. Ali is now having to sleep rough in a Singapore railway station surviving on one free meal a day, until a way can be found for him to return to Bangladesh.
Full Story on Reuters Website
Welders kept in Cage for 3 months
Feb 28 2009, 08:55 AM
