On 30 April 1955, about 1,300 port workers employed by the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) went on strike for better wages and working conditions. The strikers included tally clerks, stenographers, storekeepers and accountants. The strike ended ...

The Straits Times strike arose from a dispute over the terms of reinstatement of a dismissed worker. The strike was considered illegal as no prior notice was given as required by law. The Straits Times management subsequently dismissed the workers who took part ...

Strikes and other forms of labour unrest were common in 1950s Singapore. The year 1955 saw 57 cases of labour unrest involving bus company workers, including the Hock Lee bus workers’ strike and riot. That same year, bus workers of the Singapore Traction Company ...

With the port being the cornerstone of Singapore’s economy, the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) – which on 18 October 1946 became the first union to be officially registered under the 1940 Trade Unions Ordinance – has played a pivotal role in ...

When the Emergency was declared in 1948, the communist-linked Singapore Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) went underground. The Singapore Trades Union Congress (STUC), with the support of the colonial government, was formed in 1951 as a federation of trade unions ...

After the split in the People’s Action Party (PAP) that led to its left wing setting up the Barisan Socialis, the Singapore Trades Union Congress (TUC) also split into two rival factions: the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore Association of ...

The Malayan Emergency began in June 1948 after three British plantation managers near Sungei Siput in Perak were killed by insurgents of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). The CPM had aimed to overthrow the colonial government and establish a Communist People’s ...

William Lim Siew Wai (b. 19 July 1932, Hong Kong–) is an architect, urban theorist and activist. The Singapore citizen has been involved in the design of many iconic buildings in the country, including the former Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House ...

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) was established on 6 September 1961, with Mahmud Awang as the pro-tem chairman and C. V. Devan Nair its first secretary-general. The labour movement initially represented only a minority of unionised workers. Its membership, ...