[h=2]Bus driver warned by union not to spill the beans on SMRT[/h]
September 3rd, 2012 |
Author: Contributions
Driving four to five hours at a stretch puts the driver, passengers and other road users at risk. One SMRT bus driver speaks openly about their safety standards and how they are repeatedly compromised in the name of efficiency and timeliness of bus schedules.
Joe (not his real name) complains about the days he had to skip his meals and toilet breaks so that he can meet the tight bus schedules. The entire bus trip is timed to Swiss standard of accuracy. He needs to start on time, end on time and reach each bus stop on time. He gets rebuked if he does not meet any one of these targets. Driving a public bus these days is less about driving skills or public safety; it is all about getting the job done on time, on target.
His work schedule tells a different story, however. He is only allowed eight minutes break between each ride and a main break of twenty-eight minutes each shift. But sadly, road and weather conditions do not always work in his favour, forcing Joe to cut short his rest between rides to less than two minutes and on some occasions skipping it altogether.
Joe spoke anxiously about the close shaves, near misses and accidents and how sometimes driving long hours can put other road users at risk. He spoke about how his colleague got into a minor accident and was warned by the management for careless driving. He argues that accidents happen not because of the negligence of drivers but because of the carelessness of the management.
We asked Joe, if he had spoken to his management about these issues. He said that he was warned by the union to “shut up” and not to create any trouble for them.
The International Transport Workers Federation recommends that drivers ideally get a twenty minute break after two hours of continuous work and no driver should be allowed to drive continuously for more than four hours without a break. According to Joe, SMRT is in contravention of these standards.
A typical work day for Joe, according to official records, could be as long as nine hours, and on some days up to eleven hours. This does not include the time spent on the first-parade tasks such as checking the tyres and engine, which can take another twenty to thirty minutes; and the time taken to drive the bus to the depot at the end of the day. These extra duties, though part of the job scope are not claimable as overtime duties.
Irregular work week
We were in utter disbelieve when Joe told us that he can end up working 12 day cycles before he gets his off day. He wrote down on a piece of paper to show us.
<TBODY>
</TBODY>Joe starts work on the Monday of week 1, works through the weekend and gets his next off day on the Saturday the following week. He reckons that such long workday/workweek cycles wears out the drivers, making them less alert on the road and hence more prone to road toll.
He cited a recent case of the SMRT bus accident into the bus stop along Jurong Town Hall Road. From what he heard of the driver involved in the accident, the driver claimed that he was feeling unwell. He hazards a guess that like he himself, perhaps that driver was also affected by fatigue.
He also told us that at times, while driving he gets dizzy spells due to insufficient rest. He thanks his lucky stars that nothing unfortunate happened during these bouts.
When we asked Joe as to why he came to TOC, he said that he was here to prevent another accident and as the saying goes; whoever saves one life saves the entire world!
.
Kumaran Pillai & Leo Khaw
* The article first appeared in TOC (http://theonlinecitizen.com).
.
Editor’s note: TRE would like to thank the SMRT driver for bravely approaching TOC to reveal his side of the story. TRE would also like to thank TOC for publishing this story to inform our Singaporean public about it. TRE has sent this article to MOT, LTA, SMRT and NTUC for comments.
.
Driving four to five hours at a stretch puts the driver, passengers and other road users at risk. One SMRT bus driver speaks openly about their safety standards and how they are repeatedly compromised in the name of efficiency and timeliness of bus schedules.
Joe (not his real name) complains about the days he had to skip his meals and toilet breaks so that he can meet the tight bus schedules. The entire bus trip is timed to Swiss standard of accuracy. He needs to start on time, end on time and reach each bus stop on time. He gets rebuked if he does not meet any one of these targets. Driving a public bus these days is less about driving skills or public safety; it is all about getting the job done on time, on target.
His work schedule tells a different story, however. He is only allowed eight minutes break between each ride and a main break of twenty-eight minutes each shift. But sadly, road and weather conditions do not always work in his favour, forcing Joe to cut short his rest between rides to less than two minutes and on some occasions skipping it altogether.
Joe spoke anxiously about the close shaves, near misses and accidents and how sometimes driving long hours can put other road users at risk. He spoke about how his colleague got into a minor accident and was warned by the management for careless driving. He argues that accidents happen not because of the negligence of drivers but because of the carelessness of the management.
We asked Joe, if he had spoken to his management about these issues. He said that he was warned by the union to “shut up” and not to create any trouble for them.
The International Transport Workers Federation recommends that drivers ideally get a twenty minute break after two hours of continuous work and no driver should be allowed to drive continuously for more than four hours without a break. According to Joe, SMRT is in contravention of these standards.
A typical work day for Joe, according to official records, could be as long as nine hours, and on some days up to eleven hours. This does not include the time spent on the first-parade tasks such as checking the tyres and engine, which can take another twenty to thirty minutes; and the time taken to drive the bus to the depot at the end of the day. These extra duties, though part of the job scope are not claimable as overtime duties.
Irregular work week
We were in utter disbelieve when Joe told us that he can end up working 12 day cycles before he gets his off day. He wrote down on a piece of paper to show us.
| Week 1 | Week 2 | ||||||||||||
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S | S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| Rest | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | Rest |
<TBODY>
</TBODY>
He cited a recent case of the SMRT bus accident into the bus stop along Jurong Town Hall Road. From what he heard of the driver involved in the accident, the driver claimed that he was feeling unwell. He hazards a guess that like he himself, perhaps that driver was also affected by fatigue.
He also told us that at times, while driving he gets dizzy spells due to insufficient rest. He thanks his lucky stars that nothing unfortunate happened during these bouts.
When we asked Joe as to why he came to TOC, he said that he was here to prevent another accident and as the saying goes; whoever saves one life saves the entire world!
.
Kumaran Pillai & Leo Khaw
* The article first appeared in TOC (http://theonlinecitizen.com).
.
Editor’s note: TRE would like to thank the SMRT driver for bravely approaching TOC to reveal his side of the story. TRE would also like to thank TOC for publishing this story to inform our Singaporean public about it. TRE has sent this article to MOT, LTA, SMRT and NTUC for comments.
.
