ON MAY 14, my son was working at Toast Box in Great World City when he accidentally cut his thumb with a sharp knife at about 11.15am.

The cut was deep and bled non-stop. He took a cab on his own to the nearest hospital and was given 10 days' MC to rest at home.

He paid the cab fare, consultation fee, medical fee and three follow-up payments himself.

As he is a part-time worker, he is not entitled to any benefits. But since he injured himself at work, should he not be allowed basic benefits? As he is paid by the hours he works, 10 days' MC means no income at all.

Where my son works, employees are surrounded by hot water, hot stoves and sharp objects, so accidents such as scalding, burns and deep cuts may happen. All workers (full- and part-time) work hard during the peak period and share the same workload. Part-time workers play their part to help the company make money, but they have no medical benefits at all.

There has all along been this unwritten rule of no benefits or privileges for part-timers. But I know the pressure such employees face. It has always been the practice to schedule part-timers during the peak period so enough staff can serve customers and satisfy them.

Part-timers are key players in the company's success, although they do not have so many working hours or responsibility.

Here are two questions I hope the authorities can answer:

• Why are part-timers not entitled to medical benefits?
• If a part-time employee is injured due to work and at work, should he not be compensated? If yes, who should he go to? If no, why not?

Lim Herh Kim

This article was first published in The Straits Times.