A history of Singapore’s daily-rated workers and the unions that fought for them

Fourteen unions collectively known as the Federation of Daily Rated Employees' Unions were formed in 1947 to safeguard the interests of daily-rated workers. PHOTO: NTUC
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

SINGAPORE – Daily-rated workers in the public service were a group of people doing mostly blue-collar work cleaning, maintaining and running Singapore’s public services like its parks and utilities.

The scheme, which Singapore inherited from the colonial British government, lasted until last year, when the last daily-rated workers were converted to monthly schemes, like most other public sector employees.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.