I was quite alarmed to read this in today's Straits Times. I wonder if the hiring managers or whoever makes these decisions in SMRT & SBS Transit have ever traveled on the streets of China before. I certainly hope so. Nightmare, is all I can say.
Let's hope these Chinese bus drivers don't bring their horrible driving habits here to Singapore. And I hope SMRT & SBS Transit puts them through intensive training to get rid of these bad driving habits & teach them some road etiquette before letting them loose on the streets of Singapore.
Yikes.
March 11, 2008
China bus drivers hired as few S'poreans keen on job
120 from China hired; low pay, irregular hours are major roadblocks for Singaporeans
By Yeo Ghim Lay & Jamie Ee Wen Wei
BUS operators are turning to China for drivers as more Singaporeans here shun the job, complaining of irregular hours and low pay.
This is the first time SBS Transit and SMRT are looking beyond Singapore and Malaysia in their efforts to hire more drivers.
SMRT's first batch of 34 drivers from China arrived in January. It has hired about 100 to boost its pool of 1,700, 80 per cent of whom are Singaporeans.
Meanwhile, SBS is bringing in 20 such drivers to start work soon on two-year contracts.
SBS Transit spokesman Tammy Tan said that if its first batch of bus captains from China performs well, it might hire more of them and also consider drivers from other countries.
It currently has 5,200 drivers, 75 per cent of whom are Singaporeans or permanent residents.
For both bus operators, Malaysians make up the rest of the drivers.
Both companies said they are turning to China as they find it increasingly difficult to hire Singaporeans.
It is a problem that has surfaced in the past.
In 2005, the basic pay of bus drivers was raised from $936 to about $1,200 to get more Singaporeans to take up the job.
In addition, as part of a job redesign programme - a larger initiative by the labour movement to get Singaporeans to take up jobs they once shunned - drivers were renamed bus captains, to improve their self-esteem.
The measures worked initially, as the number of Singaporeans signing up rose.
But although salaries have risen since then - SBS Transit says its bus captains earn between $1,600 and $3,500 a month now - hiring Singaporeans is getting tougher.
National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) general secretary Fang Chin Poh said the revised salaries are still not attractive enough for most Singaporeans, especially given the long and irregular hours.
Bus drivers usually work 10 to 12 hours a day, including overtime, said Mr Fang, a bus captain with SBS Transit for 28 years.
Those who are on the morning shift have to start work at 4am or earlier, while drivers on the night shift get back home at about 2am or later, he said.
They also work a six-day week, and their one day off is not fixed. Breaks between bus trips are usually 10 to 15 minutes, added Mr Fang.
'It is a tough job. Not only do you have to drive and keep a look-out for other vehicles, you have to take care of commuters too,' he said.
NTWU president Lau Lye Hock noted that with more jobs being created by the booming economy, Singaporeans have more job choices now.
Driving a taxi is more attractive than driving a bus, for instance, because the hours are flexible, said Mr Lau.
For its part, the union is encouraging older bus captains to continue working if they are able to, instead of retiring.
But Mr Fang acknowledges that as time goes by, it is likely that Singaporeans will see more bus drivers from China.
Besides the lack of interest from Singaporeans, China drivers also come cheaper, he said.
When contacted, SBS Transit said it is still finalising salaries for its China bus captains, while SMRT declined to give figures.
Before they hit the road, the new hires will be given lessons to improve their grasp of English, said the bus operators.
They will also get other training, including service route familiarisation, customer service and how to handle local road conditions.
One major change for the new bus captains from China: They will have to keep to the left-hand side of the road when driving, instead of to the right as they do in China.
ghimlay@sph.com.sg
jamieee@sph.com.sg
On a different note, I wonder if Singaporeans will react by protesting the importation of foreign talent (again). This is another example of Singaporeans not wanting the "tough" jobs.
1 comment:
"Besides the lack of interest from Singaporeans, China drivers also come cheaper, he said. "
Try to read the statements more closely, doc. It is an obsequious euphemism for cost-cutting these days. Before becoming a med student at the ripe old age of 40, I had worked in a high-skilled industry that was literally raped by rampant offshoring and cheap imported labour, displacing all local professionals on price alone. Again the time-tested whitewash was the rather convenient and elusive "labour shortage" claims and that nobody wanted to or could do the "hack" work. Funny that those retrenched had to work for far less pay, not doing "hack" work and most couldn't find employment in a similar field. You go connect the dots. Labour arbitration is an all-out economic war upon the middle-class in industralised nations.
You medicos had better remove your rose tinted glasses. The SMA and its political & familial connections to the ruling party is the only barrier standing between you and the cheap unwashed 3rd world masses with MBBSs, who are now driving taxis in places like Australia and US. I assure you, there are those who are ready and willing to get them to displace your/our ilk.
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