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Protest calls for restructuring of unions, slams hiring of foreigners

SINGAPORE — For the third straight year, Transitioning.Org, a website supporting the unemployed, organised a Labour Day protest at Hong Lim Park, drawing about 400 participants.

Bananas were distributed to participants as a show of support for blogger Amos Yee. The gesture related to the pictures of Amos munching on a banana while on the way to one of his court sessions last month. Photo: Ernest Chua

Bananas were distributed to participants as a show of support for blogger Amos Yee. The gesture related to the pictures of Amos munching on a banana while on the way to one of his court sessions last month. Photo: Ernest Chua

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SINGAPORE — For the third straight year, Transitioning.Org, a website supporting the unemployed, organised a Labour Day protest at Hong Lim Park, drawing about 400 participants.

A total of nine speakers took the stage, arguing for the need for a restructuring of the unions here and speaking out against the hiring of foreigners, among other things.

One of them, Ms Fatimah Akhtar, an activist, questioned the effectiveness of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), for instance.

Businessman Frankie Low, who is from the Reform Party, called for the Government to make it harder for foreigners to apply for work in Singapore.

A third speaker, undergraduate Daryl Sim, spoke on behalf of younger workers, and raised concerns over the cost of tertiary education in Singapore.

Similar to its protests in the past, the organisers took to symbolic gestures to express their dissatisfaction over a myriad issues.

For instance, throughout the event from 4pm to 7pm, bananas were distributed to participants as a show of support for teenage blogger Amos Yee, who is facing criminal charges for making offensive remarks against Christianity and circulating obscene imagery.

The gesture related to the pictures of Amos munching on a banana while on the way to one of his court sessions last month.

The event also saw a symbolic tearing of fake university degree certificates, which were also distributed by the organisers, to express dissatisfaction over the dubious origins of degrees they accuse some foreigners of holding to get jobs here.

Among those who attended the event was human rights lawyer M Ravi, who has since been suspended from practice, and blogger Roy Ngerng.

Meanwhile, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) issued its May Day message yesterday, which focused on the need to improve workers’ well-being. It opposed the Government’s decision not to set a minimum wage and raised concerns over the cost of living in Singapore.

The SDP also argued for the “reordering” of labour relations here, in opposition to the NTUC’s role.

Despite the tightened foreign worker inflow since 2010, the opposition party felt the slowdown has not gone far enough. It also lamented the working hours here.

“We need a government that realises that productivity can only improve if we take care of our workers’ well-being and job satisfaction. In other words, it needs to generate well-paid, meaningful jobs for the people,” said the SDP. YVONNE LIM

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