HAVE YOUR SAY: SMRT bus drivers' wage protest

In a rare case of labour protest in Singapore, over 170 disgruntled mainland Chinese SMRT bus drivers refused to take the wheel on Monday as they protested a disparity in pay between them and other foreign bus drivers.

Besides inconveniencing commuters and other drivers who had to be called in as replacements, the work stoppage staged yesterday also triggered a strong response in the online space following media reports.

While many users’ immediate reaction was to question if the Chinese workers’ protest in pay would be considered a “strike” – a word almost unheard of in this context in Singapore – others were more concerned about the possible actions SMRT would take, and if this could point to the beginning of a slippery slope. 

Among them was Facebook user Charlene Yang, who said she “never expect such things to happen in sg (sic)”.

Commenting on xinmsn’s page, Yang wrote, “I hope smrt can sack all who went on strike. Else we will probably be seeing other staffs from other organisations going on strike too... they might think that going on strike is the way to go for higher pay.”

Keith Timothy, who wrote on Channel NewsAsia’s Facebook page, agreed, saying that “If the police allow such precedence of a strike, we can anticipate more of such unruly behaviour in the future.”

Another user Shafiq Rahman questioned the “double standard”, asking “why the China bus drivers (were) not arrested for holding this illegal strike when Singaporeans (will be) arrested for holding a strike”.

“Before these PRCs demand for better pay, they should ask themselves if they're better than other drivers,” Philip Wong added. “Most can't speak English at all, while some drove recklessly. We passengers have to tolerate their poor service standard, yet they have the audacity to strike.”

Despite the many critics, however, there were some who felt the need to look at the other side of the coin before passing their judgement.

“Maybe the workers do not have a representative to speak up for them thus they put up a strike. Even though their actions may not be right, I guess to a certain extent we do need these Chinese drivers as our bus companies are not providing high enough salaries & these drivers have to wake up at wee hours & work late too,” Facebook user Karen Lim reasoned. “I guess sometimes we need to be humane & grateful to the immigrant workers.”

Echoed Grace Chai, “Yes they are cheap labour, but if they were treated unfairly or (made to) work like slave… it's their right! They are human beings too!”

Earlier, a post entitled “Chinese drivers have awakened” written in Chinese and shared on a Chinese community forum also made its rounds on Facebook Monday evening.

In it, the discontented bus driver wrote of SMRT’s alleged unfair treatment of Chinese workers. He claimed that not only were they excluded from an earlier salary increment on Nov 23, they were made to work longer hours without prior notice.

“Why are we the only ones who are not compensated? Why do you break your promises time and again? You only know us as China nationals but fail to recognise that we are a part of MRT (sic), one of the many drivers working hard to serve the public everyday,” he shared.

HAVE YOUR SAY: What's your take on the SMRT bus drivers' wage protest? Sign in with your Windows Live/ Hotmail ID below, and post your thoughts now!