TRADE UNIONISM IN SINGAPORE

Tun Lim Yew Hock: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government, when it came into power in June 1959, in its first policy speech said in this Assembly (I am quoting from column 8, Volume 11, No. 1 of Hansard):

'In implementing its declared policy of a unified Trade Union movement, the Labour Ministry is consulting all the main streams of the labour movement to get the widest possible agreement on the structure of the new organisation to be set up. The Government will also cancel registration of splinter and yellow unions after due investigation.'

That was a declaration of policy in regard to the unification of the trade unions in Singapore. In an endeavour to unify the trade unions, the Government did say that they were going to deregister splinter and yellow unions. Sir, with that declaration of policy the Government went ahead using the T.U.C., which had already got into the hands of the P.A.P., to gain a stranglehold on the trade unions of Singapore. Not very long after that declaration, we read in the newspapers of "Ten Tall Men" being appointed as Assistant Secretaries to the T.U.C. Their terms of office were to be for five years. Later we found that they could not be removed under the Constitution of the T.U.C. The Ten Tall Men (the tallest man is the Secretary-General of the T.U.C.) went ahead trying to unify the trade union movement for the P.A.P. It was not to unify the trade union movement so as to strengthen the movement as a whole, but to unify the movement for the P.A.P. Sir, a number of organisations were strengthened. In fact, some federations were registered and were later deregistered, and that gave rise to a lot of misgivings and attacks. But the Government quite cleverly said that the deregistration of these federations was as a result of instructions from the Internal Security Council - as if the Internal Security Council interferes in the trade union movement

Then in May 1960, nearly a year after the T.U.C. came into power, the Government had its Trade Unions Bill for Second Reading on the 13th of May. During the Second Reading of that Bill, it was pointed out by me and by Members of the Opposition that certain clauses of the Bill were inserted in order to gain control of the trade union movement for a political Party, and that is the Party in power. Of course, at that time there were only eight of us and there were 43 on the other side. They just ridiculed and laughed and said, "We don't worry about the Opposition. Who is the Opposition? We are the Government with 43 strong men and a great majority in this Assembly. We can do what we want." And so they went ahead trying to gain control of the workers of Singapore in trade unions for the benefit of the P.A.P. But suddenly, Sir, the Government must by then have smelt something going on that was not according to the P.A.P. pattern. The Ten Tall Men did not respond, as it had been thought that they would respond, to the P.A.P.'s scheme of gaining control. Therefore, in spite of the fact that this Bill was pushed through this Assembly without even referring it to a Select Committee - pushed through the Assembly on the 13th of May by the Government in its desire to capture the trade union movement for the Party in power - that Bill was never assented to by His Excellency the Yang di-Pertuan Negara. No reasons were given why the Bill was not assented to. I looked up the Constitution of Singapore, Sir, and I must say that I could not find in it the power whereby the Yang di-Pertuan Negara could refuse to give assent to a Bill that has been passed in this Assembly. Of course, there are certain reserved powers, but those reserved powers are in connection with defence and external relations, and have nothing to do with trade unions

So the Government, in its rush to capture the trade union movement, found it was caught in between by the Ten Tall Men who were quite tall. In fact, they were growing taller and taller, getting out of reach of the P.A.P., and the Government suddenly felt that this Bill must not be assented to. Sir, I do not know. It could have advised the Yang di-Pertuan Negara not to give his assent to the Bill. Well, that is that.

Then, as to be expected, trouble started in the P.A.P. itself. Then we had a spectacle a few months ago (in July 1961, I think) of the disintegration of the P.A.P., so much so that even before the Barisan Sosialis came into existence, here was the great Secretary-General of the T.U.C. who is now, Sir, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture. I must say this, Sir, and I would ask the Government to consider - and consider properly - that it is not right that a Parliamentary Secretary of a Government should be the Secretary-General of a trade union organisation, particularly of such a union as the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees who are the servants of the Government. Here is a representative of the masters getting into a union of employees and saying that they are the great champions of the employees. And yet the Government, Sir, was very fond of saying yellow unions, yellow unions. I do not know what kind of a union one would call the A.U.P.E. which has as its Secretary-General a Parliamentary Secretary. I would say in this House, Sir, that it must be the greatest yellow union in Singapore.

Some hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Tun Lim Yew Hock: Sir, when that failed, the Secretary-General of the T.U.C., in other words, the Parliamentary Secretary now to the Minister for Culture - Culture, mind you, the whole time it is culture! - told the Minister for Labour (at that time he was the Minister for Labour but now he is the Minister for Health and Law), "I say, terrible, terrible, man! Cannot control! Dissolve T.U.C.!" I do not know on what authority - just one man to come and say, "Dissolve the T.U.C." And that is that. Yet they say they are the champions of a democratic trade union movement. One man suddenly got the jitters because he found that all that he had hoped to do for the P.A.P. was lost because the struggle to gain the hearts and minds of the workers had already gone the other way. Suddenly, there was this heading - when I say it I had a laugh - on page 16, the Straits Times, Wednesday, 26th July, 1961, "Byrne to dissolve the T.U.C." and "Kandasamy to organise new set-up".

Yet, Sir, in the Press release it was admitted by the Secretary-General of the T.U.C. that the present Constitution of the T.U.C. had never been registered. It is wonderful, Sir. So if one could just be a Parliamentary Secretary or belong to the P.A.P., one could do anything against the law because the Government will not take action. The Constitution of the T.U.C. had never been registered and yet the T.U.C. was all-owed to function for so many months! The next day on 27th July, it is Byrne again - "Unified Unions Policy Will go on - Byrne". It said here on the front page, "Mr Byrne agreed with Mr Kandasamy [how could he do anything but agree?] that the present Constitution of the T.U.C. had not been registered and could not legally be registered under the present Trades Union Ordinance,". And yet this T.U.C. was allowed to function for so many months under a Constitution that could not legally be registered. The Minister for Health and Law please take note!

Mr A. P. Rajah (Farrer Park): He has gone home!

Tun Lim Yew Hock: The Constitution could not be legally registered and yet the T.U.C. was allowed to function. So it is clear to us, Sir, that the P.A.P. is just making use of the workers movement for its own political ends. But, of course, the Government was quite clever. It gave a sop, you know, a little sugar, "We give you a Trade Union House. Never mind, your T.U.C. can go. In the meantime, before the House is built in Shenton Way, take back the poor Natina Home In Queen Street and have it. Have all the fun!"

I would ask the Minister this: who are now the occupants of that house? It is still occupied by the now dissolved T.U.C. coming under a different name? What is it - National Trade Union Centre? What is in a name after all? I would ask the Government to consider properly and to remember that they cannot use the funds of the people of Singapore to achieve their awn party political ends.

An hon. Member: That is right.

Tun Lim Yew Hock: And yet, the Minister for Labour and Law, in reply to a question by the Member for Anson on the unification of unions, said, "No legislation can be introduced to unify the trade union movement because of the present split in the movement here." Sir, it is because of a split that one must unify. Yet they say that because there is a split one should not unify, What was meant by that was that the Government will not want to make any move to unify the unions because the Government does not think that the workers of Singapore are foolish enough to put their trust in organisations or trade union organisations which are under the control of P.A.P. Assemblymen, Parliamentary Secretaries, and a lot of things P.A.P.

Now coming to A.U.P.E. - Amalgamated Union of Public Employees - here is also an attempt to unify the trade union movement. When the P.A.P. came into power, they had a brain-wave. "Ah, ha, we are going to be the masters! Since we have been helping the Government unions to fight against the government of the day, it would be better for us now to control the Government unions before they come and start fighting us." So they had this brain-wave of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees. There was an attempt made to Let all the unions of Government employees into one amalgamated union under the great leadership of the great trade unionist who is now the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture. What did this Amalgamated Union of Public Employees - A.U.P.E. - do? They tried to force Government employees to join up with the A.U.P.E. and the Government not only countenanced it but encouraged it. Take the case of the partial restoration of the pay cuts. Instead of negotiating with the Staff Side, the Minister for Finance negotiated with the great Secretary-General of the A.U.P.E. for partial restoration and reached agreement with him. Not only did he reach agreement, but he issued circulars to all employees of the public service saying, "Thou shall not get this partial restoration unless thou art a member of the A.U.P.E." What is this? This is all wrong. This is the P.A.P. way of building up a trade union movement to strengthen the trade union movement to look after the welfare of the workers. It is unbelieveable. All this is for the P.A.P. Then, all right, partial restoration. As a result of that, Sir, I understand there were many, many civil servants who became members of A.U.P.E. just to get that partial restoration.

Then suddenly, because of this great integration idea of the P.A.P., the City Council had to be scrapped because the Mayor and the City Councillors had absconded and contested the elections. The City Council had to be scrapped and the employees of the City Council had to be integrated.

Sir, there has been far many, many years a City Council Labour Unions Federation to which the Prime Minister was a very able adviser. I think he led them in two strikes. But when integration took place, the Government made some attempt to close down this Federation and said, "Boys, since you are being integrated, join the A.U.P.E." Fortunately, the workers of the City Council were not so easily intimidated. They fought and they sent in a strike notice to the Government saying, "We want to help ourselves. You can change our name if you like. You can change it to the Public Daily-Rated Employees Unions Federation." At that time, I think it was a different Minister who said, "Oh, no, you cannot have it."

But fortunately because of the solidarity of the workers of the City Council, they won the day. But now because of the rivalry between the A.U.P.E. and the Public Daily-Rated Employees Unions Federation, there was a strike. I must congratulate the Minister for Labour for having settled this strike. They go back to work tomorrow. But then they have been on strike for more than 20 days. Singapore was in a real mess. There was dirt in some places. You will remember, Sir, that when the Government came into power in 1959, even the Prime Minister rolled up his sleeves and swept Tanjong Pagar - which was all for propaganda. The Prime Minister, other Ministers and P.A.P. Assemblymen swept the roads. Why? For propaganda! But during the period of the strike, if they had any sympathy or feelings for the people of Singapore [Interruption] they should have been sweeping the roads in Tanjong Pagar [Interruption]

Mr Speaker: Order.

Tun Lim Yew Hock: They have not done so because they have become rubbish themselves and they will be swept away very soon. [Interruption.]

Mr Speaker: Order. Mr Serjeant-at-Arms, if there is any more levity in the Strangers' Gallery, the strangers will have to be removed.

Tun Lim Yew Hock: They did not go out sweeping because they know that they will be swept out themselves. Let that be.

Now the A.U.P.E., Sir. The A.U.P.E. have already shown that they are not a yellow Union. Therefore, while the strike was going on, there was the great Kandasamy saying in the Free Press -

Mr Speaker: Order.

Tun Lim Yew Hock: - "We will -

Mr Speaker: Order. I think the Member for Cairnhill is encouraging this levity by his speech. If he will be a little more serious and talk seriously, we will not have this levity. Tun Lim.

Tun Lim Yew Hock: Thank you very much for your guidance, Sir,It is in the Free Press: "Government Staff May Strike - Warning By Kandasamy" - the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture. Imagine an employer giving warning to himself and saying that the staff may go on strike! As if that was not enough, you have another one. I think it was Mr Devan Nair who said, "Oh, unions should not take part in politics." I do not know why after 2� years of playing politics in trade unions they now come out to say, "Oh unions should not take part in politics. Unions should not be vehicles of any party ideology." They have been trying to get the trade unions to be a party to the P.A.P. ideology for the past 2� years. But when they find now that they can, not control the unions any more, they say, "Do not be bluffed by other trade unionists."

Sir, as a trade unionist, I say in all sincerity that in order to strengthen the trade union movement the trade unions must be unified. When they are unified, the trade union movement should not be made use of by the party in power.

8.20 p.m.

The Minister for Labour (Inche Ahmad Bin Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the Member for Cairnhill, who was the Minister for Labour and Social Welfare in the last Government, knows - as everybody knows - that the conditions then prevailing in the trade unions, particularly in the Trades Union Congress, were in a mess. There is hardly any time - with nine minutes to go - to go into details, but I will touch only on the major criticisms re garding the T.U.C. and the accusation made by the Member for Cairnhill that the A.U.P.E. is a Government-sponsored union.

Mr Speaker, Sir, after the P.A.P. Government assumed office, the Singapore Trades Union Congress was revived - let me make it quite clear - not by the Government but by the Singapore Trades Union Congress' affiliated unions themselves in response to the Government's call for unifying and strengthening the trade union movement in Singapore.

Sometime about the end of April 1960, the S.T.U.C. convened a Special Delegates Congress under its registered rules - that is, the old rules. At that meeting, a new constitution was adopted in anticipation of the coming into force of the new Trade Union Ordinance. Subsequently, new officers were elected and nine secretaries were appointed by the newly-elected Secretary General in accordance with the provisions of the new constitution. This new constitution has never been submitted to the Registrar of Trade Unions for registration as it is not registerable under the existing Trade Union Ordinance. The Singapore Trades Union Congress continued to function under this unregistered constitution until the middle of this year. Then its leadership split into the groups and the S.T.U.C. was abandoned. These are all facts, Mr Speaker. The group led by Mr Lim Chin Siong and his friends lost no time in forming a new body called S.A.T.U. Other trade unions which do not have similar aims as those of Mr Lim Chin Siong and his friends then came forward to form the so-called National Trade Union Congress - the N.T.U.C. Both these two new bodies have applied for registration and their applications are still under consideration.

The Government has been accused of arbitrarily dissolving the S.T.U.C. - as the Member for Cairnhill has suggested. I think this is just another attempt to mislead and confuse the people. The fact is that Government has not dissolved the S.T.U.C. because it cannot do so under the law. Under the Trade Union Ordinance, the dissolution of a registered trade union - and the S.T.U.C. is a registered trade union - can only be effected voluntarily by the union itself in accordance with its own constitution.

From time to time, allegations have been made that the A.U.P.E. is a Government-sponsored union and that the A.U.P.E. is backed by the P.A.P. at the expense of other unions. These allegations are not only misleading but mischievous.

Tun Lim Yew Hock: That is why they go on strike.

Inche Ahmad Bin Ibrahim: Now let me give some facts about the emergence of the A.U.P.E. I got the official facts from my Ministry. About three months after the assumption of office of the P.A.P. Government in June 1959, the Singapore Union of Postal and Telecommunications Workers and the Postal Telecommunications Uniformed Staff Union effected a voluntary amalgamation and gave birth to the A.U.P.E. which was registered on 26.9.59. Two months later, another amalgamation was effected between the A.U.P.E. and six other unions. They are the Singapore City Council Services Union, the Singapore Telephone Board Employees Union, the Woodbridge Hospital Uniformed Staff Union, the Singapore Laboratory Technicians Union, the Government Public Health Inspectors Union and the Public Works Labour Union. The parties to the second amalgamation again chose the A.U.P.E. as the name of the amalgamated body. This second amalgamation was registered on 16.11.59. In the first half of 1960, the Singapore Midwives Union, the Singapore Fire Brigade Employees Union and the Central Provident Fund Staff Association dissolved themselves voluntarily and transferred their membership to the A.U.P.E. The amalgamated unions which form the A.U.P.E. are amongst the oldest unions in Singapore, one being registered as far back as in 1946 and three in 1947. One of the amalgamated unions, the Public Works Labour Union registered in May 1947, has been representing the daily-rated workers in Government departments for the past 13 years. This right of representation was transferred to the A.U.P.E. upon amalgamation.

Mr Speaker, Sir, from the above facts, the people can judge for themselves whether or not the A.U.P.E. is a Government-sponsored union or a splinter union.

Mr Speaker, Sir, sometime in May 1960, when I was still the Minister for Health, we sought the assistance of the Labour Ministry to arrange for secret ballots to be held to settle the question of union representation of the grades of staff in the Health Ministry: assistant nurses, almoners, appliance makers, male nurses, Division IV personnel, excluding the Woodbridge Hospital uniformed staff. Subsequently, the Singapore Medical Services Union and the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees settled amicably between themselves the question of union representation in respect of the grades of staff mentioned above. But, Mr Speaker, Sir, both the A.U.P.E. and the Singapore Medical Workers Union wanted to contest the right of representation of Division IV personnel attached to all the institutions and branches of the Health Ministry other than Woodbridge Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital. A secret ballot was therefore held from 10th to 19th January, 1961, among the Division IV officers concerned to decide which of the two unions they would wish to have represent them. The secret ballot was conducted under the supervision of the Registrar of Trade Unions. I think everybody knows the result.

As regards the Public Daily-Rated Employees Union, I am happy to say that the question of union recognition has been discussed during the last few days and I am also glad to say that they have reached a settlement and that the question of union recognition will be dealt with in the shortest possible time.

Mr Speaker: Order. The time appointed for the termination of the sitting has arrived.

Mr Speaker adjourned the House without Question put pursuant to the Standing Order.

Adjourned accordingly at 8.30 p.m. to Monday, 27th November, 1961.