SMRT bus drivers from China on strike over wage Part 1
SMRT bus drivers from China on strike over wage Part 2
SMRT bus drivers from China on strike over wage Part 3
Acting Manpower Minister on the illegal strike by SMRT bus drivers
Public transport services, like those provided by SMRT, are listed under "essential services" under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act or CLTPA (1).
Strikes are illegal for workers in essential services, unless they give the employer 14 days' notice of the intent to go on strike and comply with requirements of the notice (2).
By taking matters into their own hands the drivers have clearly crossed the line. These workers have disrupted public transport services and Singapore's industrial harmony. The Government views these disruptions very seriously. We have zero tolerance for such unlawful action because disrupted essential services not only affect the workers in the industry, but also affect the daily life of all in the community.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) was informed this morning that over 60 SMRT bus drivers did not turn up for work today.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN
Police are currently investigating this illegal strike. There are rules and laws to follow, and we will let the investigations run their course.
GRIEVANCES ARE NO EXCUSE FOR HOLDING ILLEGAL STRIKE
All workers, local or foreign, need to be treated fairly in accordance to Singapore's laws. All workers also need to be treated fairly because that is what is expected of good leadership and management i.e. responsibilities of any good employer.
Taking the law into your own hands is wrong. This illegal strike is not acceptable and would be dealt with in accordance to the law.
(1) Under the First Schedule of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act, Part III, on Illegal Strikes and LockOuts in Essential Services, the penalty for illegal strikes is a fine not exceeding $2,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both. Persons who incite or give financial aid also face the same maximum penalty. Besides public transport services, civil defence services, fire services, port, dock and harbour services, health services and refuse and waste services are also considered essential services.
(2) Under s 6(1) of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act, no workman employed in water services, gas services or electricity services may go on strike, whether with or without notice.
NTUC says it supports govt's action
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) supports the actions taken by the Government. It is important to send a clear signal to all workers that as a nation ruled by law, there are proper ways of dealing with issues and disagreement.
Minister of State for Transport on the illegal strike by SMRT bus drivers
The Ministry of Transport views the actions taken by this group of SMRT bus drivers very seriously. Public transport is an essential service, any organized work stoppage will always affect commuters and is unacceptable.
SMRT updates number of bus drivers involved in illegal strike; lodges police report
Bus operator SMRT has released new figures on the number of its bus drivers from China who were involved in the illegal strike.
In a statement just in, SMRT said 171 drivers - not the 102 earlier reported - did not report for work on Monday.
On Tuesday, 88 - 68 from the morning shift and 20 from the afternoon - did not show up. The figure given earlier was 60.
It has lodged a police report "for further investigation into possible breaches of the law", and is conducting its own investigations on whether employment terms have been breached.
SMRT statement on bus drivers who were absent from work
SMRT has issued the following statement on the bus drivers who were absent from work today:
On 26 November 2012, 171 Service Leaders from China did not report for duty. At a dialogue with the Service Leaders yesterday, SMRT assured the Service Leaders it will look into their concerns, while the Service Leaders agreed to return to work the next day.
However, despite the agreement, 68 and 20 of the SLs who were on the morning and afternoon shift respectively did not show up for work today.
SMRT Management takes a serious view of the bus service delays that were brought about by the irresponsible behavior of the Service Leaders (SLs) who did not report for work as scheduled.
SMRT's priority is to ensure that bus services are restored to normal as soon as possible.
In accordance with our obligation as a Public Transport Operator, SMRT has lodged a police report for further investigation into possible breaches of the law. At the same time, the company is conducting its own investigations on whether terms of employment have been breached.
SMRT will continue to engage all our SLs from China to explain the situation, and urges SLs not to take matters into their own hands but to make use of the proper channels to discuss workplace matters.
SMRT would like to assure SLs who were not involved in the actions over the last two days, that the company continues to value their services.
Singapore threatens Chinese bus drivers striking over pay bias
Singapore warned mainland Chinese bus drivers, who are staging the first strike on the island for more than 25 years, an act that could land them in prison.
A total of 102 Chinese drivers (updated to 171 by SMRT) working for state-linked transport firm SMRT began their strike over pay disparities yesterday, refusing to board a shuttle bus from their dormitory to a nearby depot, AFP reports.
An agreement was hammered out to convince them to return to work, but SMRT said more than 60 drivers still did not turn up for duty today (27 Nov).
Strikes and other forms of industrial action are rare in Singapore.
The last illegal strike was in 1980 and involved the Singapore Airlines pilot's union, the manpower ministry said.
The penalty for staging an illegal strike is a fine of up to S$2,000, or a maximum prison term of one year, or both.
Singapore has been hiring bus drivers from China and Malaysia because of a chronic shortage of manpower.
SMRT is 54 percent owned by state investment firm Temasek Holdings.
The SMRT bus drivers who had been on strike for the past two days, causing delays in service, appeared to have returned to work this morning.
Two buses picked up the drivers, who are from China, from their Woodlands dormitory to ferry them to their respective bus depots.
One bus left at 4am while the next departed at 5.15am.
Late yesterday, Chinese Embassy officials arrived at the dormitory and were seen talking to the drivers before they left in the early hours of the morning. The police presence also left the scene by about 2am today.
Bus driver community split over mass labour strike
While bus captains from China do work the same hours as drivers of other nationalities, it's fair that they are paid less because they get transportation and housing, say some SMRT bus drivers.
Several Singaporean and Malaysian bus drivers in general voiced this sentiment in the wake of Monday’s full-day Chinese bus drivers’ strike.
“(Chinese bus drivers) shouldn’t be paid the same amount as Malaysians because unlike Malaysians, they do not have to travel back home across the Causeway every day,” said one Singaporean driver.
“They (Chinese and Malaysian nationals) probably shouldn’t be earning the same amount since they (the Chinese) are provided with accommodation,” echoed another local bus captain.
Noting further that the terms for salary arrangements would have been agreed upon before the drivers first came to Singapore, he said that if they were not violated or changed in any way upon their arrival, the drivers in question should have nothing to complain about.
Another local bus captain said he felt that it would be fair for the transport operator to up the pay of the Chinese drivers by a certain percentage, but it should eventually still come to below the amount Malaysian drivers earn.
One Malaysian bus driver who spoke to Yahoo! Singapore was visibly annoyed at Monday's strike, saying the move to do so was "irresponsible and uncalled for".
He shared that starting out as a bus driver here, his base pay was about $650 a month. Coupled with a twice-daily commute between Johor and work, he said Malaysian bus drivers don't have it as easy as their Chinese colleagues, for whom accommodation and transport is provided to and from their respective bus depots.
"We (Malaysians) have been here for more than 10 years, how can they compare with us?" he asked. "Even if a Malaysian and a Chinese driver have the same amount of experience, housing rental isn't cheap here -- it eventually adds up."
In fact, he said, if any comparison should be done, it should be between Chinese and new Singaporean drivers, who are offered significantly more in pay than drivers of any other nationality.
"In any case, Indian bus drivers (who hold PR) are paid the same as us -- they also have to settle their own housing arrangements," he said. "Why only pinpoint us? Why drag us into this?"
Asked for her views on the strike, however, one female driver from China said she fully supported it, but did not join it for fear of losing her job.
"They may say that we are given accommodation, but have you seen the accommodation they give us? It isn't fit for humans," she said in Mandarin. "Eight of us share a room, and there isn't any walking space between our beds. I've also been bitten by rats and insects on multiple occasions before."
Nonetheless, she said all that is still bearable compared to the disparity in pay they receive for their work.
"This really is unfair to us. We do the exact same work, work for the same number of hours and yet we don't receive the same compensation. Our living conditions back home are far, far better than they are here."
Why the word 'strike' was not used initially
For the first time yesterday, the word "strike" was used to describe the actions of the SMRT bus drivers who refused to work in protest against salary increments.
The absence of the word from media reports led to questions from members of the public and others online about why it was not used.
At a press conference yesterday, Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin explained that this was because the Government needed time to ascertain the facts of the incident, as well as the rules and regulations provided under the law.
Mr Tan said: "The labelling of an industrial action such as this is not trivial because by labelling it as a strike or not a strike we then also open up a series of actions that will follow thereafter. So it's important for us to do due diligence, to investigate, to make sure that we are quite clear what exactly happened."
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