1955 - S'pore's 'blackest' year
By Benita Aw Yeong
The New Paper
Tuesday, Dec 04, 2012
SINGAPORE - Newspaper reports called 1955 "Singapore's blackest year of industrial unrest", with 271 strikes recorded as of November that year.
Using recollections collected by the Oral History Centre of the National Archives, Benita Aw Yeong shows you why Singaporeans have zero tolerance for illegal strikes.
Hock Lee Bus Strikes and Riots
When: May 12, 1955
What happened: A strike broke out at the Hock Lee Bus Company after 200 members of the Singapore Bus Workers' Union were dismissed.
This later erupted into a full-scale riot between the police and striking workers, who were joined by about 2,000 Chinese middle-school students who showed up to lend their support. Four people were killed and 31 were injured. The strike lasted 142 days, making it the longest in post-war Singapore.
"There were demonstrations and riots in Alexandra area where the bus depot was... At the circus, the students put up road blocks and they stood around in a mass. Some of them moved forward... throwing stones, daring the police to retaliate.
"And this went on for about half an hour I think. Then suddenly, there was a fire... word came through the loudspeakers that they'd overturned a car... they were burning the car and attacking the passengers.
"During the fracas, one of the students was shot and wounded by the police. He was alive but the demonstrators did not send him to the hospital. They carried his body around to show to the people the brutality of the police. He died."
- Mr Othman Wok, who was a journalist with Malay newspaper Utusan Melayu. He later became the Minister for Social Affairs and Singapore's ambassador to Indonesia
"I went there and saw thousands of students...They brought food and entertained the strikers... about 150 of them were blocking the gate. Then, to prevent the buses from moving, they threw stones at the police... the mobs got hold of one Chinese police officer, sprayed him with the petrol and burned him alive. You know, it was very gruesome to see this, all these things."
- Mr Lee Khoon Choy, who was a journalist with Chinese newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau, speaking in 1981. He later became a member of parliament and a senior minister of state
The Great Singapore Traction Company Strike
When: July 14, 1955.
What happened: Workers of the Singapore Traction Co. Ltd (STC) presented new demands for wage increments. When STC rejected the demand, employees went on strike on Sept 27. All bus services were stopped for about a month when bus workers picketed the entrances of the bus garages to protest.
"It was the most successful strike ever called by the Communist United Front. It was the longest but also the most successful because we brought the company down to its knees. And of course, we engaged [Mr Lee] Kuan Yew as our lawyer to fight the case. And he had a good case when it came to wages and conditions of work."
- Mr Devan Nair, who was the Factory and Shopworkers' Union's secretary, speaking in 1981. He served as Singapore's third president between 1981 and 1985
"I mean, when a certain negotiation failed to show that we were serious about taking action, we instructed our buses to return to the depots. Even so, we gave the instructions without causing any inconvenience to the public... We would normally order the buses back after 8pm... The union members' job was very easy. We need not carry out sabotage."
- Mr Mahmud Awang, who was a leader in the Singapore Traction Company union
"The Chinese company came in but of course the frequency was not as often as the STC...We waited for about two hours and squeezed like nobody's business before we managed to get on the bus. And then it took two hours, one hour to get back to the house. We spent altogether about four hours... getting to school and back. It was terrible."
- Mr Bernard Chen, who was a 14-year-old student who had just come to Singapore from Hong Kong at the time of the STC strike, speaking in 2001. He is now the president of the Singapore Labour Foundation
Singapore Harbour Board Strike
When: May 1, 1955
What happened: Some 1,300 port workers, including clerks, technicians, storekeepers and firemen from the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) went on strike for better wages and working conditions.
The strike lasted 67 days.
"The union committees set up the information centre, picket leaders, where to put and who's in charge of transport. So everything went smoothly. Without any trouble. We have a strike, we don't have a clash with anyone, no rioting, nothing."
- Suppiah Kathan, a tonnage clerk with the board at the time, speaking in 1989
Get The New Paper for more stories.
By Benita Aw Yeong
The New Paper
Tuesday, Dec 04, 2012
SINGAPORE - Newspaper reports called 1955 "Singapore's blackest year of industrial unrest", with 271 strikes recorded as of November that year.
Using recollections collected by the Oral History Centre of the National Archives, Benita Aw Yeong shows you why Singaporeans have zero tolerance for illegal strikes.
Hock Lee Bus Strikes and Riots
When: May 12, 1955
What happened: A strike broke out at the Hock Lee Bus Company after 200 members of the Singapore Bus Workers' Union were dismissed.
This later erupted into a full-scale riot between the police and striking workers, who were joined by about 2,000 Chinese middle-school students who showed up to lend their support. Four people were killed and 31 were injured. The strike lasted 142 days, making it the longest in post-war Singapore.
"There were demonstrations and riots in Alexandra area where the bus depot was... At the circus, the students put up road blocks and they stood around in a mass. Some of them moved forward... throwing stones, daring the police to retaliate.
"And this went on for about half an hour I think. Then suddenly, there was a fire... word came through the loudspeakers that they'd overturned a car... they were burning the car and attacking the passengers.
"During the fracas, one of the students was shot and wounded by the police. He was alive but the demonstrators did not send him to the hospital. They carried his body around to show to the people the brutality of the police. He died."
- Mr Othman Wok, who was a journalist with Malay newspaper Utusan Melayu. He later became the Minister for Social Affairs and Singapore's ambassador to Indonesia
"I went there and saw thousands of students...They brought food and entertained the strikers... about 150 of them were blocking the gate. Then, to prevent the buses from moving, they threw stones at the police... the mobs got hold of one Chinese police officer, sprayed him with the petrol and burned him alive. You know, it was very gruesome to see this, all these things."
- Mr Lee Khoon Choy, who was a journalist with Chinese newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau, speaking in 1981. He later became a member of parliament and a senior minister of state
The Great Singapore Traction Company Strike
When: July 14, 1955.
What happened: Workers of the Singapore Traction Co. Ltd (STC) presented new demands for wage increments. When STC rejected the demand, employees went on strike on Sept 27. All bus services were stopped for about a month when bus workers picketed the entrances of the bus garages to protest.
"It was the most successful strike ever called by the Communist United Front. It was the longest but also the most successful because we brought the company down to its knees. And of course, we engaged [Mr Lee] Kuan Yew as our lawyer to fight the case. And he had a good case when it came to wages and conditions of work."
- Mr Devan Nair, who was the Factory and Shopworkers' Union's secretary, speaking in 1981. He served as Singapore's third president between 1981 and 1985
"I mean, when a certain negotiation failed to show that we were serious about taking action, we instructed our buses to return to the depots. Even so, we gave the instructions without causing any inconvenience to the public... We would normally order the buses back after 8pm... The union members' job was very easy. We need not carry out sabotage."
- Mr Mahmud Awang, who was a leader in the Singapore Traction Company union
"The Chinese company came in but of course the frequency was not as often as the STC...We waited for about two hours and squeezed like nobody's business before we managed to get on the bus. And then it took two hours, one hour to get back to the house. We spent altogether about four hours... getting to school and back. It was terrible."
- Mr Bernard Chen, who was a 14-year-old student who had just come to Singapore from Hong Kong at the time of the STC strike, speaking in 2001. He is now the president of the Singapore Labour Foundation
Singapore Harbour Board Strike
When: May 1, 1955
What happened: Some 1,300 port workers, including clerks, technicians, storekeepers and firemen from the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) went on strike for better wages and working conditions.
The strike lasted 67 days.
"The union committees set up the information centre, picket leaders, where to put and who's in charge of transport. So everything went smoothly. Without any trouble. We have a strike, we don't have a clash with anyone, no rioting, nothing."
- Suppiah Kathan, a tonnage clerk with the board at the time, speaking in 1989
Get The New Paper for more stories.
The consequences in terms of loss of votes is too high a price to pay even for the PAP. 
