HK activists stage protest; call for release of SMRT bus drivers
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A Hong Kong labour activist displays a letter showing the picture of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong outside the consulate of Singapore as a representative of the consulate (left) looks on during a protest in Hong Kong on Dec 5, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Hong Kong labour activists try to make their way to the consulate of Singapore during a protest in Hong Kong on Dec 5, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A Hong Kong labour activist displays a placard showing the picture of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as she and others try to make their way to the consulate of Singapore during a protest in Hong Kong on Dec 5, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
A Hong Kong labour activist displays a letter showing the picture of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong outside the consulate of Singapore as a representative of the consulate (left) looks on during a protest in Hong Kong on Dec 5, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Hong Kong labour activists try to make their way to the consulate of Singapore during a protest in Hong Kong on Dec 5, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
A Hong Kong labour activist displays a placard showing the picture of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as she and others try to make their way to the consulate of Singapore during a protest in Hong Kong on Dec 5, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
HONG KONG - Labour activists from the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions are calling for the release of the former SMRT bus drivers detained for going on an illegal strike last week. They also called on the Singapore government to amend the law stipulating that workers providing essential services need to give an advance notice of 14 days before striking.
The group of about 20 protesters congregated in front of the Singapore consulate office in Admiralty shouting slogans such as "equal rights, equal pay", and passed a petition letter to an official from the consulate.
The group's leader Lee Cheuk Yan accused Singapore of not respecting international labour standards that enshrine workers' rights to strike and which call for equal standards for migrant workers.
On why the activists from Hong Kong are exercised about the situation in Singapore, he told The Straits Times: "If the Singapore government is able to get away with this violation, it will set a bad example to other governments."
