SMRT bus drivers’ strike : examining the legalities and implications on society.

• Main Authors: Wei, Yiyang., Han, Ziying., Tan, Pearl Yi Shi.
• Other Authors: Ong Chin Siew, Dennis
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::General::Moral and ethical aspects; DRNTU::Business::General::Social aspects; DRNTU::Business::Industries and labor
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51566
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The SMRT 2012 bus drivers’ strike apparently ended Singapore’s quarter century record of industrial peace. The strike spotlighted global and domestic scrutiny on Singapore’s swift handling of the disruption. The incident presents a valuable opportunity for a critical study of Singapore’s reaction to the labour unrest and questions the necessity and utility of approaching the problem from the angle of a strike. This report begins with an overview of modern Singapore’s plaque of strikes in the fifties and sixties which augured an unprecedented period of industrial peace. An examination of the legal, social, economic and political implications of the SMRT strike suggests that the recent labelling of the unrest as a strike was perhaps unnecessary and imprudent since the ministerial declaration of the unrest as a strike brings with it attendant negative connotations of punishment rather than conciliation and negotiation, masking deeper issues of unfair work conditions and practices. Furthermore, the declaration of strike is a judicial and not executive prerogative and is a matter not lightly exercised. The paper juxtaposes the 1980 Singapore Airlines strike, which is not too dissimilar to the SMRT strike, and argues an alternative precedent and approach in managing the labour unrest without the need to resort to the ‘sledgehammer’ declaration of a strike. By challenging the decisions made by various stakeholders, this study highlights a deeper underlying problem that needs to be addressed. This paper concludes with recommendations on how matters could be better handled by the respective stakeholders of the government, the trade union, the employer and the employee.