The following is an open letter to the SMRT Board of Directors by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), on the recent SMRT strike. In her letter to the media, Ms Bridget Tan, the CEO and founder of HOME, said:
"The stand of HOME is clear - we are of the position that SMRT is responsible for the 'illegal' action taken by the Chinese bus drivers. We uphold the principle of 'equal pay for equal work' and we are against anti-labour and discriminatory practices. The State should take these circumstances as mitigatory reasons for the release of the workers so charged for an illegal strike action."
An Open Letter to the SMRT Board of Directors
Statement by HOME
We refer to the recent episode of the industrial action taken by 171 bus drivers and we wish to express our dismay over your anti-labour and discriminatory practices against your Chinese bus drivers. We support the call of the Minister of Manpower that the incident is a ‘wake-up call’ to all businesses to review their human resource management policies and practices.
Non Compliance to UN Guiding Principles to State and Businesses
SMRT is a State linked organization providing essential public services and disruption of public transportation is a national concern. As a State linked business enterprise, you need to strictly comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These principles based on ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ framework should be implemented in a non-discriminatory manner with particular attention to the rights and needs of vulnerable migrant workers in your organization.
Non Compliance to Investor’s Ethical Standards
Among your investors, Australian Ethical avoids investments in companies that practice ‘exploitation by low wages, poor working conditions, discriminatory employment and inhibition of human rights’. Your 171 Chinese bus drivers resorted to an illegal strike action because of your discriminatory practice of unequal wage increments and unsatisfactory living conditions.
“Unequal Pay is Immoral” – International Labour Organization (ILO)
The ‘Equal pay for Equal work’ is a foundational principle of the International Labour Organization. The policy decision to implement unequal salary increment is discriminatory and in violation of international labour standards.
Remedial Actions for the State and SMRT
• We call on SMRT to review and consider the re-employment of the 29 bus drivers who were repatriated back to their homes.
• We call on SMRT to make a public apology to bus commuters for the disruption in your services caused by poor people management policy and practices.
• We call on SMRT to place the interests of bus commuters foremost in the delivery of quality transportation services with a motivated team of fairly managed and trained workers.
• We call on the State to exercise leniency and grant freedom to those strikers in remand and imprisonment. The State’s action to convict those involved in illegal industrial action should be mitigated by the ‘non-compliance’ of SMRT to the UN Guiding Principles to State and Businesses.
• We call on the State to ensure that SMRT and all other businesses conduct human rights due diligence and comply with international labour standards ‘equal pay for equal work’ and best practices in human resource management.
We submit this open letter to you for a human-rights based resolution as the world commemorates Human Rights Day this 10th December 2012.
Bridget Tan
CEO & Founder