Labour MP asks: Why take matters into own hands?

SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan gave his views on the strike involving 102 Chinese SMRT drivers on Monday. He said “We rely on foreign manpower to meet our economic needs and keep the cost of living manageable but this presents risks: If something happens in their homeland and they go back en masse, our source dries up”. The other risk is the potential for industrial action as these foreign workers are not used to Singapore's norm of consensus. Malaysians, on the other hand, are familiar with the way things are done in Singapore. “They've been in the Singapore workforce for four decades and their culture milieu is similar to Singapore,” Assistant Prof Tan said.