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
SMRT bus drivers from China on strike over wage Part 4
SMRT investigating still-absent bus drivers involved in illegal strike
Six SMRT bus drivers from China on morning shift did not report for work this morning, amid investigations into an illegal strike over salaries.
SMRT said on this afternoon that it is investigating why they were absent.
An SMRT spokesman said it has not ruled out the possibility that they are unwell and added that it may not be right to assume that there is anything malicious, as of now.
A police car and an ambulance were at Woodlands Dormitory for about half an hour this morning. Another ambulance is still at the dormitory.
A female driver from China, who did not report for work on Monday but returned to work yesterday, told reporters that SMRT has treated them fairly. She said she understands that SMRT will give the workers an answer on their salary grievances by the end of the week.
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Bus drivers assisting police with investigation: SMRT
SMRT says that 20 of the bus drivers involved in the strike are, together with them, assisting the police in their investigation.
It also admitted that swifter actions could have been taken to improve dormitory conditions.
SMRT says there are lessons from illegal strike, will make improvements
Bus operator SMRT says there are lessons to be learnt from the illegal strike by its mainland Chinese bus drivers.
In a media briefing that is now going on, SMRT executive vice-president (roads and commercial) Teo Chew Hoon said the operator will make immediate improvements.
As for the dormitories that workers said had bed bugs and were not acceptable, SMRT said fumigation works had been scheduled for the Woodlands dorm but they had not been carried out yet.
The media briefing at SMRT's North Bridge Road headquarters is its first since the matter surfaced on Monday.
Singapore’s first strike in nearly 3 decades highlights strains from foreign worker influx
Singapore responded to its first strike in nearly three decades with riot police and strident official criticism of the disgruntled Chinese immigrant workers, highlighting strains from an influx of foreign labor.
Many of the 171 striking bus drivers returned to work Wednesday after a government minister warned them they had “crossed the line” and riot police were stationed near their hostel. They went on strike Monday in protest at being paid nearly a quarter less than Malaysian bus drivers who work for the same Singapore transport company.
As the city-state grew wealthier over the years, its citizens increasingly spurned menial, low status work and the government, concerned about remaining competitive with lower cost countries in Asia, needed a solution. The island of 5.2 million people now relies on hundreds of thousands of immigrants from countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh and China who work as maids, construction workers and other occupations deemed unappealing by many locals.
The influx has strained public services and sparked a backlash, particularly among low-income Singaporeans, by keeping wages down while the growing numbers of expatriate professionals working for global companies based in the city have pushed up housing and other costs.
The government is “losing the ability to feel the pulse of the public and react accordingly,” said commentator and former newspaper editor P.N. Balji who characterized the strike as a “huge embarrassment” for Singapore. “This inability, if not tackled quickly, can only damage the country’s jealously-guarded reputation in the long run.”
China asks for its workers' rights to be safeguarded
Since news of the drivers' action broke on Monday, the two biggest microblogging sites - Sina and Tencent Weibo - have attracted more than 1,000 comments.
Many criticised SMRT for treating the bus drivers unfairly and paying them too little.
Sina Weibo user Xu Zhixin wrote: "The SMRT management lacks the human touch. How can it deduct the drivers' wages when they take medical leave?"
Tencent Weibo user Xu Liqiang said: "We have to seek justice for the Chinese drivers. Why should they be deemed inferior to other foreigners?"
Others were peeved by Singaporeans who said the bus drivers should return home if they were unhappy working in Singapore.
"Troublesome Singaporeans should also 'scram' out of China!" anonymous user Chinese Revival Forever posted on the popular Tianya forum.
Another, citing the recent launch of China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning, said: "That is why we need to build more aircraft carriers and send them to Singapore's doorsteps."
"We shall see if they would still dare not to raise the wages."
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Nip drivers' disruptive behaviour in the bud (Forum letter)
In Singapore, ignorance of the law is not bliss and the rule of law rules.
Workers in essential services, such as transport, water, gas and electricity, are prohibited from going on strike (unless they give 14 days' notice of their intention). Once a precedent, especially a bad precedent, has been set, worse will come.
The authorities should arrest and charge those bus drivers who are holding out for more, deport them at their own cost and ban them from ever working here. Show the world and every worker here that we will not be held to ransom, to nip such disruptive behaviour in the bud.
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