Strategic Research
JWB Partners with National University of Singapore (NUS) to Develop
a Roadmap to Remote Representation
JWB Legal Research Fellows studying at NUS law school discuss legal strategy with NUS Law Professor Sheila Hayre as they develop JWB's Roadmap to Remote Representation
Singapore has one of the highest proportions of foreign workers in the region. As in nearly all host countries, some of the lowest-skilled workers fall prey to unscrupulous brokers and employers. Sadly, many victims cannot stay in Singapore long enough to pursue claims against these bad actors. That is where JWB steps in, helping practitioners in Singapore connect with partners in clients' home countries so that they may start or continue their cases from abroad.
Unfortunately, many service providers and pro bono lawyers who want to help these victims are faced with difficult, practical questions. What claims can victims pursue without having to return and appear in court? How do practitioners actually bring these cases in the client's absence? What legal and logistical hurdles stand between claims and compensation?
JWB and the NUS Law Faculty have partnered to answer these questions, and develop an easy to use practitioner's manual that explains the most relevant legal remedies, as well as how to overcome the many practical hurdles facing pro bono lawyers in Singapore. It will also help case workers at direct service organizations make initial assessments before engaging a lawyer. Practitioners in victims' home countries can also use the manual to assess their clients' needs. As JWB has learned in Indonesia and Thailand, many victims do not realize they may have a potential claim until after they return home.
JWB's Legal Research Fellows have taken the lead in researching and gathering input for this important document. The work has involved interviews and feedback from over a dozen experts, including NGO case workers, pro bono lawyers and legal academics.
The practitioner's manual will be finished by late August and will be distributed to partners in Singapore and its relevant home countries.
We would like to thank H.O.M.E., HealthServe, Transit Workers Count Too (TWC2), the Law Society of Singapore, and the many lawyers and law faculty who have helped to make our product a useful tool for all advocates!
Casework
Working with NGO partners on legal issues, identifying test cases for cross-border legal action
JWB is partnering with HealthServe, a Singaporean NGO that serves foreign construction workers and other migrant workers to identify test cases that involve viable legal claims by clients who must return home. HealthServe's years of work providing for the health and medical needs of this vulnerable population has shown that access to health and access to justice go hand in hand. Many of its clients complain of underpayment of wages, contract fraud, and even physical abuse. These patterns of exploitation have highlighted key legal issues that have not been answered in Singapore, as many workers opt to return home and not bring cases.
Working with teams of student Legal Research Fellows from NUS, along with supervising faculty and pro bono lawyers, JWB will begin addressing the legal issues needed to remotely provide access to redress. Our work will include:
- Enforcing judgments for returnee clients: Some victims of exploitation settle their claims against employers through negotiation or through the government's Ministry of Manpower mediation process. Unfortunately, some employers fail to pay up, preferring to wait out the victim until they must return home. Our team and partners will map out the process for enforcing the judgment without the client present.
- Taking contract, wage, and tort claims to civil court: Victims must remain in Singapore to use government-sponsored mediation channels. Civil court offers the chance for just compensation even from abroad. Unfortunately, relatively few cases have been brought via remote representation. Using JWB's practitioner's manual as a guide, we and our partners will identify viable test cases among HealthServe's client populations to establish good precedents for migrant workers and to obtain actual compensation for the clients involved.
Focus on our Fellows
JWB's researchers are also student leaders for migrant workers' access to justice in Singapore
JWB Legal Research Fellows are law students who are committed to helping victims of exploitation and human trafficking seek justice. They have been at the center of our work developing our practitioner's manual, and will play a key role in analyzing potential cases. During the spring semester, nearly seventeen NUS students took part in initial research, and included students from every class year. This summer, a core group of students, Wei Zhen Lim, Vu Lan Nguyen, Stephanie Teh, Misa Mitsugi, and Jayaraman Sanjana continued working with NUS faculty and professional lawyers in developing the product. We highlight three of the students in this issue.
Stephanie Teh
Year in school: Just graduated! I am now going to Cambodia to intern with the Asian International Justice Initiative. I will be a trial monitor for the Khmer Rouge Trials.
How did you get involved in migrant worker's access to justice?
As an idealist, I have always been interested in access to justice generally. Interest in migrant workers' access to justice began when I started pro bono initiatives and legal clinics.
Area of research with JWB?
General framework of migrant worker legal claims, but more specifically procedural law.
Most interesting part of the work? Most challenging?
Understanding the difference between black letter law and the realities of accessing the law. The most challenging is that this involves understanding the law at a high level while having an empathy for real world practicalities.
Favourite break from work?
Dancing, TV shows and hanging out with friends
Charmaine Yap
Year in school: 2nd year
How did you get involved in migrant worker's access to justice?
I did a 3-week internship in December 2013, with Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), a local NGO. I got a glimpse into the migrant worker community- a side of Singapore I had never known. I was startled by the egregious and rampant abuses that were occurring in this hidden community, in a country that prides itself on its strong rule of law.
Area of research of JWB?
Contract law, tort law, and employment legislation.
Most interesting part of the work? Most challenging?
Looking at novel claims that migrant workers could bring. Usually, only practitioners do this, so it is very exciting that our work might help advance the law someday.
Most challenging? Battling with crackly and temperamental Skype lines every meeting. Also challenging has been working around the entrenched practices of a system that is slow to change. The cause of the problem is often the power imbalance between worker and employer, which is inherent in the way foreign employment is organised in Singapore. Trying to correct this from outside the system is much more difficult.
Favourite break from work?
I got really into reading horror novels over the summer, so that is what I now do when I have some time.
Misa Mitsugi
Year in law school: Year 2. How did you get involved in migrant workers' access to justice?
I learned about it through my involvement in planning the Migrant Workers Awareness Week (MWAW) 2014 at NUS. In all honesty, I decided to join the planning committee without really knowing what it was about, and it became a great learning experience for me. Before MWAW, I never really knew about migrant worker issues. It then motivated me to become involved in other similar projects.
Area of research with JWB?
I have been focusing on procedural law. What has been the most interesting part of the work? The most challenging?
Having meetings with a team that is spread out across several countries is a really interesting experience for me. I think it is amazing how we managed to meet up regularly and make such great progress despite the distance and time differences. The most challenging was working around everyone's schedules!
Favourite break from work?
Listening to J-pop and movie soundtracks. I also like drawing, especially people, clothing styles, such as textures and patterns.
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