Reunion after over 4 years: Company surprises migrant worker by flying his family to Singapore

For migrant worker Russel Jagathesh, his company's dinner and dance this year is extra memorable.

The 47-year-old mechanic from India had a pleasant surprise when his wife and their two children joined him on stage at the Oct 4 event.

It was the first time he had seen them in four and a half years.

Recognising his contribution at work as well as the time spent away from his loved ones, Russel's employer Pollisum had arranged for the surprise reunion.

In August, the local crane company invited employees' families to submit appreciation videos for their parents working in Singapore.

Russel's son said in his video that he missed his father and looked forward to playing football with him when he returned home.

After selecting this submission, the company secretly arranged for Russel's wife and kids to fly from Kerala, India, to Singapore.

Pollisum said it covered all expenses including flight tickets and a four-day, three-night stay here so that the family could spend time together.

At the dinner and dance, the company also rewarded its staff by holding a challenge where they could win cash after counting the amount of $10 notes they had collected correctly within the time limit.

Senior operations specialist Lee Kar Yoong was the biggest winner of that night, receiving $13,810 in cash.

The 34-year-old Singapore permanent resident, who had been saving up to buy his own HDB flat, said that the prize brought him a step closer to fulfilling his dream.

Operations associate Winnie Chang, 21, was in second place, receiving $12,400 in cash.

Six other participants won $1,200 each.

The company, which has 400 employees, had put $150,000 in cash up for grabs at the event meant to recognise its workforce.

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

对于农民工拉塞尔·贾加特什来说，他所在公司今年的晚宴和舞会格外令人难忘。

10 月 4 日的活动上，这位来自印度的 47 岁机械师惊喜地发现，他的妻子和两个孩子都和他一起登台了。

这是他四年半以来第一次见到他们。

为了表彰罗素在工作中的贡献以及他远离亲人的时间，他的雇主 Pollisum 安排了这次惊喜重聚。

8月份，当地一家起重机公司邀请员工家属提交感谢视频，表达对在新加坡工作的父母的感激之情。

拉塞尔的儿子在视频中说，他很想念父亲，期待父亲回家后能和他一起踢足球。

选中这份投稿后，该公司秘密安排罗素的妻子和孩子从印度喀拉拉邦飞往新加坡。

Pollisum 表示，他们承担了所有费用，包括机票和在这里四天三夜的住宿，以便这家人能够共度时光。

在晚宴和舞会上，公司还举办了一项挑战赛来奖励员工，员工如果能在规定时间内正确数出收集到的 10 美元钞票的数量，就可以赢得现金奖励。

高级运营专家李嘉勇是当晚最大的赢家，获得了13810美元现金。

这位34岁的新加坡永久居民一直在攒钱购买自己的组屋，他说这个奖项让他离实现梦想又近了一步。

21岁的运营助理Winnie Chang获得第二名，获得12400美元现金奖励。

其他六名参赛者每人获得 1200 美元。

这家拥有 400 名员工的公司在这次旨在表彰员工的活动中，拿出 15 万美元现金作为奖金。

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com