Singapore Federation of Trade Unions

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The Singapore Federation of Trade Unions was a trade union centre in Singapore. It was founded in October 1945 as the Singapore General Labour Union on the initiative of the Malayan Communist Party. SGLU was the first unit of the Malayan General Labour Union, which expanded throughout Malaya. [1] SGLU was reconstituted as SFTU in August 1946, as the Malayan General Labour Union was divided into the SFTU and the Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions. [2]

A trade union, also called a labour union or labor union (US), is an organization of workers who have come together to achieve many common goals, such as protecting the integrity of their trade, improving safety standards, and attaining better wages, benefits, and working conditions through the increased bargaining power wielded by the creation of a monopoly of the workers. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with employers. The most common purpose of these associations or unions is "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment". This may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies.

Singapore Republic in Southeast Asia

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23%. The country is known for its transition from a developing to a developed one in a single generation under the leadership of its founder Lee Kuan Yew.

Malayan Communist Party

The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially known as the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a political party in the Federation of Malaya and Malaysia. It was founded in 1930 and laid down its arms in 1989. It is most known for its role in the Malayan Emergency.

Politically, SFTU was tied to the Malayan Communist Party. The SFTU Central Executive Committee was dominated by Chinese MCP cadres. However, was able to recruit non-communist anti-colonial labour unionists amongst the Indian community. For example, SFTU vice president P. Veerasenan and leader of the Singapore Harbour Board Labour Union was a prominent Indian non-communist union leader. SFTU had virtually no presence amongst the Malay community. [2]

P. Veerasenan was a notable labour unionist from Singapore. He was once the President of Standing Committee of Singapore General Labour Union (SGLU) as well as the vice-president of Singapore Federation of Trade Unions(SFTU). In his career, he befriended with S.A. Ganapathy, the former president of Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions (PMFTU), and Abdullah CD, Chairman and currently General Secretary of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

By mid-1947, SFTU counted with 72 affiliated unions, out of a total of 126 unions in Singapore. [1] The total membership of SFTU-affiliated unions stood at above 56,000. [1]

In 1948, the tactics of SFTU changed. SFTU initiated a number of strikes, including a general strike on 23 April 1948. These measures largely backfired, and after a call for mobilisations for 1 May 1948 the British authorities declared Emergency and clamped down heavily on SFTU. [1] After the ban on the Malayan Communist Party in June 1948, many SFTU unions were dissolved. [3]

General strike strike action in which a substantial proportion of the total labour force in a city, region, or country participates

A general strike is a strike action in which a substantial proportion of the total labour force in a city, region, or country participates. General strikes are characterised by the participation of workers in a multitude of workplaces, and tend to involve entire communities. General strikes first occurred in the mid-19th century, and have characterised many historically important strikes.

SFTU was deregistered by the British authorities in December 1948. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sandhu, Kernial Singh, and Paul Wheatley. Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore . Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1989. pp. 144-145
  2. 1 2 Political Development of Singapore, 1945-1955 , p. 217
  3. ↑ Tan, Kelvin Y. L. Marshall of Singapore: A Biography . Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2008. p. 269
  4. ↑ Barr, Michael D., and Carl A. Trocki. Paths Not Taken: Political Pluralism in Post-War Singapore . Singapore: NUS Press, 2008. p. 210
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