Breaking News! 200 SMRT bus drivers went on strike!

[Char_Azn]

Re: Which is longer??

Too lazy to recal. Just take the difference between the levy I use and multiple by 13 for Matlanders and 12.5 for PRC and add in loh.

 

[chonburifc]

Re: Which is longer??

morale of the story is ah tiong drivers got balls, less the 42 sinkiefied ah tiongs who went back to work.

 

[cheowyonglee]

PAP very scared.This episode shows that unity is strength.Break 1 chopstick very easy.U try to break 100 chopsticks at one time,cannot break too strong.Singapore workers united ? Lanjiao !!!KNNCCB to the PAP !!!

if you seperate them into different hostel, it will be less harder for them to chat, discuss and plan.
if u put 100 of them in one hostel, likely outcome will be strike!!!

 

[red amoeba]

Good calculation. Levy will increase next month by another $50~$100/head.
Malaysia driver only extra $100/month. Better hire them, can drive safer, talk simple English/Malay/Chinese/some even Hokkien.................worth it.

For long time we had Malaysian workers, I like their work ethics n their proximity in terms of culture n social etiquette. Once a upon a time kweys r Malaysian....those were the days..until they bring in Chinese prc n all their filthy social behaviour n suddenly whole Singapore got to make way for them.

 

[moolightaffairs]

Re: Which is longer??

i sincerely hope the China heroes will carry on the strike! and get more drivers involve!!! make it bigger!!!

this is the song dedicate to our China heroes in smrt!!!

<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h-47s8ES5Ik" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>

大河向东流哇
天上的星星参北斗哇
（嘿嘿嘿嘿 参北斗哇）
（生死之交一碗酒哇）
（不分水天一碗酒哇）
说走咱就走哇
你有我有全都有哇 <---- malaysian driver have, china driver also must have!

路见不平一声吼哇
该出手时就出手哇
风风火火闯新州哇

嘿呀依 儿呀唉 嘿唉嘿依儿呀
（嘿呀依 儿呀唉 嘿唉嘿依儿呀）
路见不平一声吼哇
该出手时就出手哇
风风火火闯新州哇
（嘿嘿 嘿嘿呦嘿嘿 嘿嘿 嘿嘿呦嘿嘿）

hope those heroes from China stay united and last till smrt give in.

 

[watchman8]

if you seperate them into different hostel, it will be less harder for them to chat, discuss and plan.
if u put 100 of them in one hostel, likely outcome will be strike!!!

Good idea. Then dismantle all the FW dorms, and split them up into the heartlands. For new HDB flats, all the 2nd floor will be reserved for FW. The lift will not stop at 2nd floor, so they can only use a separate staircase.

I think Cow is already working on this proposal. This can also help to reduce the surge in new HDB flats demand. 2 birds, 1 stone.

 

[Char_Azn]

For long time we had Malaysian workers, I like their work ethics n their proximity in terms of culture n social etiquette. Once a upon a time kweys r Malaysian....those were the days..until they bring in Chinese prc n all their filthy social behaviour n suddenly whole Singapore got to make way for them.

U have to admit though PRC kweys are way better looking than Malaysian ones

 

[Extremist]

Some comments form China netizens

2012-11-27 12:46:09 延迟 [新加坡新加坡]

中国人为什么走到哪里都被受欺负 就连一个小小的新加坡都骑在中国人头上拉屎 其实我们来过新加坡的中国人 是最痛恨新加坡人的 痛恨不比恨日本人差

2012-11-27 12:37:40 延迟 [新加坡新加坡]

原帖:手机用户 [美国加利福尼亚]1
支持…！
支持 回复
2
支持罢工 新加坡人就是狗 他们虽然也叫人 华人但是他们专门欺负中国人看不起中国人 吃的用的都是中国的还一直说中国的东西不好 为什么我们同样的工作却得不到同样的待遇 什么那个破使馆还有脸说他们没有违约 想起新加坡人就恶心

http://comment5.news.sina.com.cn/comment/skin/default.html?channel=gn&newsid=1-1-25667564#page=1

 

[Devil Within]

Some comments form China netizens

2012-11-27 12:46:09 延迟 [新加坡新加坡]

中国人为什么走到哪里都被受欺负 就连一个小小的新加坡都骑在中国人头上拉屎 其实我们来过新加坡的中国人 是最痛恨新加坡人的 痛恨不比恨日本人差

2012-11-27 12:37:40 延迟 [新加坡新加坡]

原帖:手机用户 [美国加利福尼亚]1
支持…！
支持 回复
2
支持罢工 新加坡人就是狗 他们虽然也叫人 华人但是他们专门欺负中国人看不起中国人 吃的用的都是中国的还一直说中国的东西不好 为什么我们同样的工作却得不到同样的待遇 什么那个破使馆还有脸说他们没有违约 想起新加坡人就恶心

http://comment5.news.sina.com.cn/comment/skin/default.html?channel=gn&newsid=1-1-25667564#page=1

PRC can fuck back to China! They don't even know why they were paid less than Malaysian Chinese!

 

[Alamaking]

Omg, their pay is pathetic!!!

 

[GOONDUSAMI]

not really, if u add FT levy, sama sama...and they have language skills defeciency mah...so 15-25% less is ok mah.

 

[Devil Within]

Omg, their pay is pathetic!!!

The worst paid are Singaporeans! For Malaysians, when they go back to Malaysia, their earned 2.4 times! When PRC goes back to China, they earned 5 times! Singaporeans, stuck here with the high cost of living and no increase in amount!

SGD 1k is CNY 5K !!!! That more than average PRC office executive earned in China!!! Fucking PRC bus drivers are greedy bastards!

 

[laksaboy]

That'll teach you to hire Tiong drivers. Not only are they dangerous drivers on the roads, they are now involved in disruptive labour disputes.

And of course the wages are artificially depressed in SG. It's not just bus drivers and lowly jobs - the wage depression extends upwards to all PMET jobs across all industries.

More for them and their cronies, less for the rest of us. Even Hong Kong has passed a minimum wage law, the soulless corporate overlords of SG Inc. don't want that. So they throw out some bullshit excuse of 'diminished competitiveness'.

Bullshit such as this:

http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Story/A1Story20110113-257928.html

Minimum wage not a solution

SHARING the fruits of Singapore's economic prosperity with low-skilled and low-wage workers remains a key priority for the Government, but an overwhelming majority of Members of Parliament yesterday reiterated the stand that the best way to do this is not through a minimum-wage law.

Instead, the consensus was that more concentrated efforts must be made to look into the various ways to help the less privileged in society, in order to narrow the widening income disparity.

This was the key thrust of a five-hour-long parliamentary debate yesterday, sparked off by a motion urging the Government to bring about more inclusive growth in Singapore society.

You need a five hour long wayang for that? This country is fucked.

 

[makapaaa]

[h=2]First Strike[/h]

November 27th, 2012 |

Author: Contributions

[TABLE="align: center"]
<TBODY>[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Lessons imported from China: Protest 101[/TD]
[/TR]
</TBODY>[/TABLE]
First, the latest details available on the development. The industrial action began at the crack of dawn when 103 disgruntled SMRT bus drivers congregated illegally at their Woodlands Depot dormitory on Monday at 4 am. Lest we forget, the amended Singapore law determines that one lone standing person can constitute an illegal assembly. They steadfastly refused to board the buses provided by their employer to ferry them to their contractual work obligations. Instead of being arrested for their audacious affront to authority they were merely “given until noon by SMRT to return to work”. Another 60 SMRT workers from the Serangoon dormitory arrived to join the picket, which could explain the earlier report of 200 belligerent Chinese nationals on site. The “talks” ended at 6 pm, with no agreement reached. Zorro, with or without mask or cape, was nowhere in sight.

“We’re not comparing our salaries with the Singaporeans. We just wanted to be treated fairly like all the other foreigners,” was the quote attributed to one of the strikers. One PRC national from Jiangsu Province told Chinese media Zaobao that the bus captains from China are paid less than those from Singapore and Malaysia.

The Straits Times initially reported the story with the heading, “200 SMRT bus drivers refuse to go to work over pay issue”. The English word for that descriptive is strike, defined in the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press as “when workers refuse to continue working because of an argument with an employer about working conditions, pay levels or job losses”. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English explains: if a group of workers strike, they stop working as a protest against something relating to their work, for example how much they are paid, bad working conditions.

So why was the “s” word so studiously avoided? Simply put, there are no strikes in Singapore, period. Flooding is also a thing of the past, the politically correct term is “ponding”. Both Kishore Mahbubani and Lee Kuan Yew have, on different occasions, boasted to the world that there are no beggars on Singapore streets either. The auntie asking you for a dollar for a packet of tissues is not begging, she’s part of the nation’s entrepreneurial force, advancing the country’s GDP for the better good of all. So long as you are on the Matrix blue pill, housing is affordable and health care is subsidised.


.
Tattler
* The writer blogs at http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/

 

[makapaaa]

[h=2]A ’sissy pussy’ handling of SMRT’s PRC hooligan drivers[/h]

November 27th, 2012 |

Author: Contributions

PM Lee

Wow! What a week to be away from Singapore. I missed such a historical moment to witness how our no-nonsense government handles a situation which we always thought will never happened in well-oiled and well-organized Singapore. That was what we have always figured before the alien invasion masterminded by the PAP government.

Well, the haunting has started. The question now is how the PAP government is going to nip the problem in the bud? Nipping problems in the bud is something of a boast with the PAP. It is time for them to show Singaporeans what this mean and how it is done.

For too long, the boast which was first made by the old Harry, was only applicable towards politics, more specifically, nipping the key opposition members who had posed a threat to their continued governance, or as soon as a party showed any sign of citizen support. The situation here is different. To Singaporeans, this is not about politics, even though the government has to keep in mind the authority in China even as they figure out what to do next.

Every Singaporean will be watching very closely. Will the government continue with its no-nonsense nip-in-the-bud boast? Or, will it bow to a bunch of hooligans (as our government is wont to call troublemakers).

The initial signs aren’t good. Even the National Transport Worker’s Union is distancing itself from these PRC hoodlums. One wonders what the NWTU is representing if it cannot represent its own workers. Isn’t it ‘protectionism’ if it only represents the Singapore worker? A joke of a statement.

The other questionable reaction coming from the NTWU is the incomprehensible and inconsistent comments it made. It was quick to distance itself from the conflict by stating that “the union does not have the legal mandate to represent the PRC bus workers of SMRT as they are not union members.” – Shit Times.

Then it added that “NTWU is prepared to help in the discussions, if the two parties welcome the involvement of the union.”- Shit Times.

The two statements help to position the NWTU in such a way that whatever the eventual outcome, it will come off it unscathed. Either way, its backside is covered. It is a no brainer that if can be of help, then why didn’t it help? Instead, it is now saying if you need help, it can help? Suddenly, the illegality of worker representation becomes legally mandated – all because the same workers union say so? Talk about being the Law and the Jury.

Coming back to how the dispute is being handled by the PAP government. Why did it allow the PRC hoodlum workers to even sit at the same table to listen to their demands? Weren’t we told that ransom will NEVER be negotiated? Does it mean that if Singaporeans are to do the same, they will have a better chance of getting what they want?

‘Talks between our management and the SLs started this morning and ended this evening at about 6 pm. This group of PRC SLs will be returning to work tomorrow’ – Shit Times.

Where is the decisive action from the government? You allow a small group of foreign hooligans to hold us to ransom, you will be allowing more hooligans to do the same in the future. They should have just sacked the whole gang of 102. By allowing them to get back to work after a whole day of negotiation is to open a can of worms with as many worms as the number of aliens there are working in Singapore today.

Why has our government turned so sissy in the face of adversity. We have been known to be efficient because we always take decisive actions against troublemakers. Or is it because we are cowed by the sheer thought of going up against China and its nationals? Is this the same reason why Sun Xi and his kinds have been let off?

Is our Prime Minister as sissy as his favorite pink shirts? Why is our government now being showed up for the sissy pussies they are? You allow this bunch of 102 to get off with such hooligan behavior, you will be allowing 1.2 million hooligans the next time.

So, who is next? The Bangladeshi workers?
.
The Alternative View
[Source]: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Alternative-View/358759327518739

 

[makapaaa]

[h=2]For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind…[/h]

November 27th, 2012 |

Author: Contributions

(Photo Sinmin)

Well, well. So 102 FT drivers recruited from China (5% of all SMRT’s drivers) refused to work yesterday, disrupting SMRT bus services. They were not happy about their pay. Happily for commuters using the affected bus services, they agreed to return to work while talks continue.
Whither the FT policy, and LKY’s pride in FTs? Striking was a no-no for workers (except, as I recounted yesterday, when the govt had another agenda). S’porean <DEL>sheep</DEL> workers did not strike partly because they were afraid of retribution. Now FTs have led the way and have so far got away with it. They might even get more money. If they do, will locals realise that they too can get away with striking? If immigrants whom LKY respect can strike, why can’t they?

And if S’poreans start striking, will the MNCs move on?

Something for the cabinet, PM and his dad to ponder.

“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.”

As for SMRT, time to forget about the stock. Management is still dysfunctional, despite having a ex-SAF chief and scholar in charge. Err might even turn into another NOL, where as I have recounted another ex-SAF chief and scholar has run it aground.
.
Cynical Investor
[Source]: Thoughts of a Cynical Investor (http://atans1.wordpress.com).

 

[aurvandil]

Some clarifications on my earlier postings.

I wasn't suggesting that that the wage differential had fallen to the point where it was negative. If that were true, we should be observing few immigrants wanting to come to work in Singapore and possibility an exodus from Singapore.

What I was saying is that 25 years of FT policy have narrowed the wage differential significantly. In SMRT and the earlier Panasonic case, the wage differential has become so small that foreign workers are willing to strike and risk deportation. As the PAP continues with its policy, it is likely that the wage differential will continue to fall. Ceterius paribus, we can therefore expect more of such incidents in the future.

Looking slightly further ahead, we can see that instead of being a bottomless gold pit, there is a natural economic limit to the FT policy. The PAP and most employers in Singapore are however blind to this and are building their future on the presumption that it can go on forever.

Also we must of course appreciate the delicious irony of this strike and the strikes to come. Long ago, the old man shot to fame as a young lawyer representing workers against the exploitative practices of colonial era bosses. It is somehow fitting that he ends his days arresting workers fighting against exploitation implemented by him.

The fact that they were successfully recruited tells me at least perception wise there was a sufficient differential to get people to accept the offers and move from PRC to Singapore. If it did not exist, there would not be acceptance.

 

[kingrant]

So are they really not comparing their wages with Singaporeans? Fucking liars.

[h=2]
“We’re not comparing our salaries with the Singaporeans. We just wanted to be treated fairly like all the other foreigners,” was the quote attributed to one of the strikers. One PRC national from Jiangsu Province told Chinese media Zaobao that the bus captains from China are paid less than those from Singapore and Malaysia.

 

[Cestbon]

PRC complaint then give them same paid with Malaysian.
Ask them move out of dormitory/paid themself and transport to work paid themself.
Malaysia driver pay their own rent and transport to work.

 

[blackmondy]

You can bet our prostitute media will divert us from this with some trivial news.