Singapore will deport 29 mainland Chinese bus drivers for taking part in a brief strike this week and charge a fifth suspect over the rare bout of industrial action in the tightly regulated Asian financial centre. "The strike was planned and premeditated. It disrupted our public transport, which is an essential service, and posed a threat to public order," the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Manpower said in a statement on Saturday.
The walkout was the first major strike in more than 25 years in Singapore, which has an ethnic Chinese majority and no minimum wage. The wealthy city-state prohibits workers in public transport and other essential services from going on strike without giving notice 14 days in advance.
In the peaceful protest over pay disparities and conditions at their dormitories, 171 Chinese drivers did not go to work on Monday and 88 did not report on Tuesday. All but a few returned to duty on Wednesday after officials from the Chinese embassy spoke with them on Tuesday evening.
The response to the strike, which highlighted tensions about the number of immigrants and how foreign workers are treated, was not unexpected from a government that keeps a tight a tight lid on labour unrest that might deter investment. China's Commerce Ministry said on Thursday it is "paying very close attention to this labour dispute". The government did not specify when the 29 drivers would be deported but said they were "sternly warned by the police for participating in the strike" and their work permits had been revoked.
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