Singapore Police stand guard as SMRT bus drivers refuse to work

Singapore police stood watch at a workers’ dormitory as bus drivers from SMRT Corp. skipped work for a second day after a wage dispute, in a rare public display of industrial discord in the island nation.

About 60 bus drivers didn’t turn up for work this morning, some with valid medical reasons, SMRT, Singapore’s biggest subway operator that also runs bus services, said in an e-mailed statement. SMRT said yesterday that 102 of its drivers, all from China, didn’t report for duty.

“We continue to keep our communications open with the service leaders,” SMRT said, referring to the drivers. The company is “also working with the relevant authorities to find an amicable resolution,” it said.

Strikes in Singapore are rare and unions have limited scope for industrial action as the government encourages consultative relations between employers and employees. Labor protests in the 1950s led to riots and deaths and the government subsequently changed the legal framework to reduce “adversarial and confrontational” industrial relations and promote investment, according to the Ministry of Manpower.

A police car and at least two policemen were seen outside the workers’ dormitory in Singapore’s Woodlands area, in the island’s north. No arrests have been made, a police spokesman said by phone, after the Today newspaper reported earlier today the drivers would be detained.

TALKS ENDED
The main concern for the police is maintaining law and order and there have been no incidents, the spokesman said, declining to be identified by name because of policy.

SMRT said the workers who protested yesterday were unhappy with their salary increments after recent adjustments made by the company. Talks between management and the drivers ended at about 6 p.m. and it said in a statement late yesterday that the employees would return to work today.

“We regret that they chose to express their unhappiness about their salaries in this manner, especially when our lines of communication with them are always open,” it said in the Nov. 26 statement.

The Ministry of Manpower takes the drivers’ actions “very seriously,” it said in a statement yesterday.

“MOM is closely monitoring the situation and looking into the matter,” the ministry said on its website. “There are appropriate grievance handling processes in place, and workers are advised to speak to their HR and management to discuss and resolve any employment-related issues amicably, rather than take matters into their own hands.”