Public transport workers guaranteed legal support in cases of abuse

Public transport workers abused in the course of work will now receive guaranteed legal support from the union and their employers, should they want to pursue civil action against their abusers.

On 28 October 2020, the four public transport operators here and the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide all necessary support to such workers, including legal action.

It follows a spate of high-profile abuse cases on Singapore's buses, which has seen a spike this year as drivers come into conflict with passengers over mask-wearing rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was previously no guarantee that legal action by public transport workers would be backed and supported by the union and their employers.

Mr. Melvin Yong, Executive Secretary of NTWU, said that with the MoU, the workers are given this assurance. "We want to send a strong deterrent message that such abusive acts will not be tolerated. A police report will be made for every assault case against our public transport worker while on duty," added Mr. Yong, MP for Radis Mas SMC.

The MoU was a result of a series of month-long discussions that involved SMRT, SBS Transit, Tower Transit Singapore, Go-Ahead Singapore, the NTWU and the Land Transport Authority (LTA). It comes even as the NTWU is exploring other preventive measures, such as plastic screens around the bus driver's seat, to stop egregious acts from hostile, and sometimes drunk, passengers.

The Acting Chief Executive officer of SBS Transit Cheng Siak Kian, whose employee was insulted and beaten for 12 minutes in an incident in September, said the memorandum shows no effort will be spared in helping such victims seek justice.

Earlier this month, SBS Transit disclosed that it had close to 40 cases of public transport workers being assaulted this year, about half of which were mask-related. There were 33 cases in the whole of last year.

Tower Transit Singapore said it had one minor case this year involving a passenger who got physical with a bus driver. Its Managing Director Winston Toh noted that abuse of public transport workers goes against the "caring commuting culture that Singapore aspires to".

In Parliament this month, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Foreign Affairs Chee Hong Tat, who witnessed the MoU signing on Wednesday, said that those who abuse public transport workers would face the full force of the law, which can include up to three years in jail when convicted of voluntarily causing hurt.

He also called for the "right societal culture, one that is based on respect for our front-line workers", and reiterated the zero-tolerance approach the Government has towards abusive behaviour.