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Five bus captains sue SBS Transit over wage dispute, including alleged underpayment for overtime hours

SINGAPORE — Five bus captains have filed lawsuits against their employer and transport operator SBS Transit (SBST), alleging that they were not paid for overtime hours — which is against Ministry of Manpower regulations — since they began working for the company.

SBS Transit has a week to file a notice in court to say if it will defend itself against the bus drivers’ claims that it had breached their employment contract terms.

SBS Transit has a week to file a notice in court to say if it will defend itself against the bus drivers’ claims that it had breached their employment contract terms.

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SINGAPORE — Five bus captains have filed lawsuits against their employer and transport operator SBS Transit (SBST), alleging that they were not paid for overtime hours — which is against Ministry of Manpower regulations — since they began working for the company.

The bus drivers’ lawyer, Mr M Ravi from Carson Law Chambers, served the writs of summons on the operator on Monday (Sept 23).

A copy of the court documents seen by TODAY showed that the drivers — comprising three Singaporeans and two Malaysians — are also alleging that the operator breached contract terms on several fronts. These include:

  • Expecting them to drive for seven consecutive days before getting a day off, which was purportedly not what they agreed on with SBST based on their letter of appointment. The Employment Act stipulates that shift employees should be given a rest day in each week, if they worked continuously for 30 hours.

  • Getting them to work more than 44 hours a week, which similarly goes against the Employment Act.

  • Underpaying them for overtime work done on their rest days. Workmen are entitled to claim overtime pay if their basic salaries do not exceed S$4,500, and their employers are expected to pay them a minimum of 1.5 times their hourly basic pay.

One of the bus captains, Mr Chua Qwong Meng, began working for SBST in April 2017. Records of his working hours did not and do not match the monthly pay slips he received, his statement of claim read.

Before filing his lawsuit in court, Mr Chua lodged a report with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. The case was then referred to the National Trades Union Congress.

The other four bus captains were allegedly told to wait for the decision regarding Mr Chua’s claim and report.

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However, Mr Chua received “no conclusive answers” after meeting with the National Transport Workers’ Union on July 19, and with various parties from ComfortDelGro and SBST on Aug 27.

SBST is a member of the ComfortDelGro group.

After the meetings, Mr Chua asked SBST for an official letter stating the breakdown of his monthly pay.

The operator allegedly agreed to send him a letter within two days but he did not receive one. He then sent SBST four “chaser emails”, which it replied by restating its position. Court documents did not elaborate on what the company’s stated position was.

The transport operator now has a week to file a notice in court to say if it will defend itself against the bus drivers’ claims.

Responding to queries from TODAY, SBST confirmed that it received the writs of summons served by Carson Law Chambers on behalf of the bus captains on Monday.

SBST’s spokesperson, Ms Tammy Tan, said that the company is in discussion with its lawyers. “We intend to defend against the allegations rigorously,” she added.

The five bus captains are seeking damages to be assessed for wages, statutory interest of 5.33 per cent every year, and costs. 

Mr Ravi said that they are still working for SBST.

Related topics

SBS Transit transport wage court bus drivers

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