SINGAPORE’S first strike in a generation staged by large numbers of Chinese workers has highlighted a potential security risk posed by the presence of foreign workers.
Happily lasting only two days, some 177 bus drivers from China staged a wildcat strike on Monday against pay disparity (compared with Malaysians) and poor living conditions.
It immediately raised questions as to whether the government would act against the Chinese strikers. If they had been Singaporeans, punishment would have been swift.
Singapore’s reliance on China workers has put the government in a bind because it cannot be too soft or too tough.
With China’s power on the ascendancy “it is unlikely Beijing would tolerate too strict a punishment,” a blogger said. Full story
