Striking Chinese bus drivers sent back
Source: AFP |
December 3, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SINGAPORE yesterday deported 29 Chinese bus drivers involved in the city-state's first strike in 26 years.
The drivers, working for state-linked transport operator SMRT, walked out on Monday last week over a salary dispute and to demand better living conditions. Their work permits were revoked ahead of deportation.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs confirms that all 29 former SMRT bus drivers have been repatriated to their home country," the ministry said in a statement.
"They were cooperative and the process took place without incident," it said, adding that Chinese Embassy officials and SMRT staff assisted in the repatriation.
Four other drivers have been charged in court, and authorities said they would lodge charges against a fifth today, for their involvement in the work stoppage which the government ruled was illegal.
If found guilty, they could be jailed for up to a year and fined a maximum of S$2,000 (US$1,640) - the equivalent of two months' wages.
Labor shortage
The two-day strike, the first since 1986 and which caught the government by surprise, has highlighted tightly-controlled Singapore's heavy dependency on migrant labor to drive its economic growth amid a labor shortage resulting from falling birth rates.
Strikes are illegal in the affluent island-state for workers in "essential services" such as transport unless they give 14 days' notice and meet other requirements.
Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said on Saturday that the workers had broken the law, but he also chided SMRT, saying the company "could have done better in managing their labor grievances and concerns."
SMRT has promised to look into the strikers' demands, fumigate their bedbug-infested dormitories, find alternative housing and open permanent communication lines with its Chinese workers.
"Valuable lessons have been learned from this incident which are being addressed by the management," SMRT said in a statement, pledging to be "more proactive, responsible and sensitive to the needs" of its drivers.
A total of 171 Chinese drivers went on strike on November 26 by refusing to report for work and staying in their dormitories, with the number falling to 88 on the second day.
The drivers, working for state-linked transport operator SMRT, walked out on Monday last week over a salary dispute and to demand better living conditions. Their work permits were revoked ahead of deportation.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs confirms that all 29 former SMRT bus drivers have been repatriated to their home country," the ministry said in a statement.
"They were cooperative and the process took place without incident," it said, adding that Chinese Embassy officials and SMRT staff assisted in the repatriation.
Four other drivers have been charged in court, and authorities said they would lodge charges against a fifth today, for their involvement in the work stoppage which the government ruled was illegal.
If found guilty, they could be jailed for up to a year and fined a maximum of S$2,000 (US$1,640) - the equivalent of two months' wages.
Labor shortage
The two-day strike, the first since 1986 and which caught the government by surprise, has highlighted tightly-controlled Singapore's heavy dependency on migrant labor to drive its economic growth amid a labor shortage resulting from falling birth rates.
Strikes are illegal in the affluent island-state for workers in "essential services" such as transport unless they give 14 days' notice and meet other requirements.
Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said on Saturday that the workers had broken the law, but he also chided SMRT, saying the company "could have done better in managing their labor grievances and concerns."
SMRT has promised to look into the strikers' demands, fumigate their bedbug-infested dormitories, find alternative housing and open permanent communication lines with its Chinese workers.
"Valuable lessons have been learned from this incident which are being addressed by the management," SMRT said in a statement, pledging to be "more proactive, responsible and sensitive to the needs" of its drivers.
A total of 171 Chinese drivers went on strike on November 26 by refusing to report for work and staying in their dormitories, with the number falling to 88 on the second day.
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