The Hock Lee Bus Strike led to rioting on 10 to 12 May 1955, in which 3 people were killed and 31 injured. During the strike, large numbers of dismissed bus workers locked themselves in the Hock Lee Garages in Alexandra Road and picketed at the gates. Thousands of school children, from 28 April onwards, brought the strikers food and entertained them with singing and dancing. On 10 May, the pickets rioted when they were forcibly removed by the police. On 12 May, twenty lorry loads of Chinese School Students joined the rioting strikers, and seventeen more were intercepted by the police. These lorry loads of students were well-organised and converged at the bus company from schools all over Singapore. On 13 May, the government closed three Chinese schools for a week and ordered the expulsion of some of the ringleaders. On 14 May the Hock Lee bus strike was settled by government arbitration on terms generally favourable to the strikers.
Events
27 April 1955 : The relaxation of police powers were debated and approved by the Legislative Assembly. Together with greater freedom of action enjoyed by the trade unions, this provided the Communists their best opportunity of confrontation with the government since 1948. The Middle Road Group launched an immediate challenge through their control of the public transport system.
The dispute centred on two main issues:
A rival trade union was formed by the Chinese-owned Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company in response to the formation of the Singapore Bus Workers Union (SBWU) in February 1955. Two hundred and fifty workers had already joined the SBWU when the Company recruited another 200 men into a pool of spare drivers, with a retaining fee of $2 per day paid on condition that they joined this rival union;
The introduction of new working rosters brought the dispute to a climax. On 23 April, the SBWU served strike notices on the Hock Lee Bus Company. In response, the management dismissed several workers who countered by locking themselves in the company's garages in Alexandra Road and picketed the gate. Strikers who prevented buses from leaving the garages were generally peaceful on 25 and 26 April.
27 April : 150 strikers blocking the gate grew more violent by throwing stones at the police and on 28 April, police had to use batons to clear the gate, resulting in 15 people being injured.
29 April 1955 : Thousands of Chinese Middle School students converged to support the strikers with food and entertainment.
30 April 1955 : On the eve of May Day, sympathy strikes spread to other unions affiliated to the Middle Road Group. Dock workers stopped the transportation of freight and passengers, threatening the economic life-line of Singapore. The island-wide industrial action grew increasingly violent with the support of students from the Chinese High schools.
9 May 1955 : Negotiations between the company and the SBWU broke down and the police were ordered to take all necessary action to clear the picket-lines for the passage of buses. Fire hoses were used to disperse the strikers..
12 May 1955 : Rioting broke out when lorry or truck loads of workers and students descended on the Hock Lee garages. A mob of 2,000 rioters attacked police; the viciousness of the violence was attributed to the SBWU being communist inspired while the owners of Hock Lee were perceived as supporters of the Kuomintang. A Chinese police officer was doused with petrol and burnt alive, while a Chinese student who was shot by the British police was paraded around for two and a half hours to whip up emotions. He died on the way to hospital.
13 May 1955 : By 3:00 am., the rioting subsided although island-wide strike of bus workers continued.
14 May 1955 : A government arbitrator negotiated a settlement between the Hock Lee Bus Company and the SBWU in which the pre-strike rosters were restored. Normal bus services resumed on 16 May 1955.
Significance and Consequences
The Middle Road Group seemed to have scored a victory as the government had directed the management of the bus company to meet the demands of the workers;
Mr David Marshall faced the problem of competition for the support of the Chinese-educated public who was satisfied that justice was restored. However, he was well-aware that the SBWU was communist-controlled and had used the dispute for political rather than industrial purposes;
There was general public revulsion at the degree of violence and this lent support to strengthening the powers of the police in maintaining law and order. Immediate reversals to the relaxation of police powers, approved by the Legislative Assembly on 27 April 1955 were made;
Lee Kuan Yew faced the dilemma of co-operating with the Communist Open Front, but at the same time, opposing violence in seeking to destroy the colonial system;
Lim Chin Siong, during the Legislative Assembly debate on the riots, was not forthright in stating where his loyalty lay - either to Singapore or to Communism.
Author
Lay Yuen Tan
