Singapore Shuttle Bus Drivers End Strike After Company Gives Salary Assurances

Their company promised new salary announcements, following wage cuts that allegedly reduced monthly pay from up to RM2,900 to less than RM2,000.

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About 100 Singapore shuttle bus drivers resumed work on Tuesday after their company promised to announce new salary adjustments.

The drivers launched a strike on Monday morning (21 July) over recent wage restructuring that reduced their monthly income by RM800 to RM900.

A 35-year-old driver who identified himself only as Atoi said the strike was not meant to inconvenience passengers, but was a protest against unfair new salary and work arrangements.

“We just want our old salary and work arrangements restored,” he said, adding that drivers only wanted to defend their wage rights.

The strike caused thousands of Malaysian workers commuting to Singapore to be stranded at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI), with some forced to walk across the Johor Causeway to reach their workplaces.

Bus services to Singapore resumed smoothly from 5 a.m. this morning (22 July) after Johor Public Works, Transport, Infrastructure, and Communications Committee Chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh met with the company and drivers on Monday afternoon.

@thehibiscusbunny
1-hour long wait for a non-existent Causeway bus from Johor Bahru. Ended up walking all the way to Singapore in 30 minutes.
♬ I Think I Like When It Rains – WILLIS

Services Back to Normal

Half of the striking drivers agreed to return to work on Monday evening after more than five hours on strike, while the rest resumed their duties this morning following company assurances of a new salary announcement.

Malaysian worker Anwar Ahmad, 29, who works in Singapore’s cleaning sector, observed how the shuttle bus services were fully restored on Tuesday, with no long queues at BSI, unlike the severe congestion experienced the previous morning.

“Thank God, today bus services to Singapore are back to normal and smooth, with no long lines this morning,” he said.

Mohamad Fazli, who is also Bukit Pasir assemblyman, confirmed that shuttle bus services to Singapore by the local company had resumed, saying several matters were discussed and he hoped all issues could be resolved.

Johor Proposes Earlier Bus Operations to Ease Congestion

Meanwhile, the Johor government has proposed that Singapore shuttle bus operators at BSI start their services earlier, at 4:30 am, compared to the current schedule of 5:00 am to 5:30 am daily.

Mohamad Fazli said the state government is also looking to increase bus frequency due to monthly passenger growth of 1,000 to 3,000 people based on Immigration Department statistics.

However, the proposal to control bus operations will be reviewed by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA), given that MRT services in Singapore start at 5.35 am.

Following a two-hour inspection at BSI from 4:00 a.m. on Monday with the LTA and bus operators, including Handal Indah, SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Ridewell Travel, Singapore-Johore Expressway, and Transtar Travel, Mohamad Fazli said the LTA would discuss and decide on the proposals soon.

LTA informed him that Handal Indah provides 24-hour services with a minimum interval of 30 minutes during off-peak hours and nearly 150 trips during peak periods.