Singapore last week came down hard on what began as a small, peaceful strike by a group of bus drivers, arresting five on criminal charges and unceremoniously deporting another 29 to China.
After the harsh action by the government, however, officials from the Manpower and Transport ministries, in press conferences last Saturday, said SMRT, one of two major transit companies on the island republic, could have managed the concerns of its workers better and added that the incident was a timely reminder for employers to look into their obligations to workers.
In addition to questions over the strike itself, however, the action also raised questions why foreign workers should be paid less than Singaporeans for doing the same work. SMRT employs some 400 Bus Drivers from China, amounting to roughly a third of total driver staff strength. The affair began on Nov. 26 when 171 drivers from SMRT, refused to work in the morning, assembling outside their dormitory in protest against what they said were poor living conditions and discrepancies in pay for drivers of different nationalities. Of those, 88 continued the strike on Tuesday. Full story...
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After the harsh action by the government, however, officials from the Manpower and Transport ministries, in press conferences last Saturday, said SMRT, one of two major transit companies on the island republic, could have managed the concerns of its workers better and added that the incident was a timely reminder for employers to look into their obligations to workers.
In addition to questions over the strike itself, however, the action also raised questions why foreign workers should be paid less than Singaporeans for doing the same work. SMRT employs some 400 Bus Drivers from China, amounting to roughly a third of total driver staff strength. The affair began on Nov. 26 when 171 drivers from SMRT, refused to work in the morning, assembling outside their dormitory in protest against what they said were poor living conditions and discrepancies in pay for drivers of different nationalities. Of those, 88 continued the strike on Tuesday. Full story...
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