All the while, the PRCs' salaries are always at a disparity, but it is made up by the OT pay. SMRT screwed up big time here, by increasing the monthly pay by $50 yet increase the workweek to 6 days. Is there not a law of minimum 40 hour working week?
There is a change of contract no doubt. This result in their strike action.
There are underlying tensions festering between foreign workers and locals here due to difference in culture and income disparity. You need just this trigger to create this problem.
All in all, there are 3 considerations for the authorities:
1. Giving in to demands, creating a precedent, and encouraging future such actions of other groups.
2. "No' at all to these demands, with a view to sacking the uncooperative workers. The cons of such an action may drive up media publicity, and Singapore-China relations may be affected if the Chinese authorities are forced to act.
3. The likelihood is No 1 but not giving in to all their demands. A compromise is the best solution. Any group of gathered folks, once emboldened, will ask for more demands. It looks like besides asking for rescinding the extra work day, the PRCs are now asking for same wage structure as Malaysian and other foreign drivers. This is an upgrade of their demands. Well before you know it, they will ask for same salaries as Singaporeans. There is no end to demands once they realise their strength in groups.
Secondly they are beginning to complain about living conditions. Over the years, the living conditions of foreign workers are improving but how far does one to go to upgrade until it affects the company cost structure and make it not viable?
The last thing you want, is to see other groups of foreigners rising up in action to challenge the low-wage structure, affecting the investor climate here. To have a dependency on foreign workers, and it being used as a chip against us, is not what we want.
SMRT management, and all employers need to be enlightened how they enforce their contracts, and treat the foreign workers with decency, otherwise, they can result in more problems. It is not as if this problem has been unknown, as months ago, it already surfaces when there is a change in the workday week to 6 days after I reckon SMRT realise the need for more buses running, yet do not want to employ more workers, hence imposes a greater burden on existing workforce.