Members of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) gathered
outside the Singapore embassy in Hong Kong on 5 December to protest the
treatment of the Chinese bus strikers from Singapore’s public transport company
SMRT.
171 bus drivers went on strike on
Monday 26 November, with 88 carrying on into Tuesday. The strike, pronounced
“illegal” by the government, was met with swift action. Five of the strikers
were charged under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act for their
involvement, while 29 others had their work permits revoked and were
repatriated to China. Bao Feng Shan, one of the five charged, pleaded guilty
and was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment. He did not have legal
representation. (See my previous post for more information.)
In response, HKCTU organised a
protest to demand that the charges against the strikers be dropped, the
deported workers be reinstated, Bao Feng Shan released from prison and for the
law criminalising strikes to be dropped.
“These actions are invariably
targeted at creating fear, especially amongst migrant workers who usually
receive discriminatory treatment, to warn them from taking such strike action
again,” said HKCTU in their press statement. The organisation also quoted the
International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) labour standards, saying, “The ILO
principles governing the right to strike provides that there must be as few
legal restrictions as possible, and also there must be no punitive actions
taken against workers who goes on strike.”
HKCTU are not the only ones to
react to the treatment of the strikers. A group of concerned Singaporeans have
gathered to organise a campaign to express solidarity with the Chinese workers.
Their first event, a forum entitled ‘The SMRT Strike – Why should we care?‘
will take place in the weekend and aims to encourage Singaporeans to discuss
issues surrounding industrial relations in Singapore such as discrimination and
the lack of independent trade unions.
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