The partial incorporation of Singapore's foreign workers

Abstract

The Singapore government regulates 'non-resident' workers through employment passes and repatriation in economic downturns. 'Non-residents' make up more than a third of Singapore's workforce. Until recently, Singapore's 'non-resident' manual workers have been segregated from mainstream Singapore society, and largely ignored by Singapore's trade unions. However, in late 2012 a group of bus drivers recruited from China, organised an illegal strike, something unknown in Singapore since 1977. Their action exposed to criticism by Singaporeans of the government's reliance on foreign workers. After the strike and subsequent prosecutions and repatriations, some National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) affiliates began to recruit foreign workers into their memberships. This paper reviews the political and social construction of Singapore's workforce, the re-emergence of industrial conflict, and the responses of the Singapore authorities to it. It reflects on the prospects for labour market regulation of partially incorporating foreign workers into its industrial relations system.