Bus driver fights back after being fired for putting passenger safety before boss’s profits
Bus driver fights back after being fired for putting passenger safety before boss’s profits
Investigations by grassroots organisation SG Bus Drivers Cityline Global Pte Ltd's pattern of underpaying and overworking drivers, and a history of risking passenger and road safety.
The Malaysia-Singapore Causeway is one of the world's busiest border crossings, averaging 350,000 travellers and 100,000 vehicles daily. During peak periods such as school holidays, it handles more than 400,000 crossings daily. The safety of this causeway is therefore an issue of deep public concern.
Earlier this year, a tragedy on the causeway was avoided thanks to the brave actions of a bus driver and a passenger.
Late at night on 12th June 2024, a Cityline Global Pte Ltd bus departed from Singapore (SG) to Kuala Lumpur (KL), a trip that takes around 8 hours. A few hours into the journey, the right rearview mirror fell off the bus and onto the highway without any warning or crash sound.
Onboard the faulty vehicle were the driver and 12 passengers, including 2 young children. Upon noticing the missing rearview mirror, the driver, a Malaysian, became distressed as he was unable to check for blind spots. Driving late at night also meant it was dark and hard to see the roads around him, putting the safety of everyone at risk.
Fortunately, a kind passenger on board calmed the driver down and helped him check his blind spots for the remainder of the journey. Others on board also agreed this would be wiser than stopping in the middle of the highway where alternate transportation would be hard to find. They reached their destination, KL Sentral, safely at around 8.30pm. The concerned passenger wanted to ensure that the coach driver would be able to make the journey back to Singapore safely, and get the adequate repairs for the faulty vehicle. He enquired if the company, which operates buses on both sides of the causeway, had bus bays or workshops in KL that the driver could go to, but there weren’t any.
“I attempted to calm him down as I was confident in a Singapore company to do right by him,” the passenger said.
However, this was not the case. The driver was informed by his boss to drive the faulty bus back to Singapore immediately, because they “need the bus to pick up customers tomorrow”. Knowing that this would put the customers of Cityline in danger, the driver told his boss he would rather risk his own life driving an empty bus back to Singapore than pick up more passengers on the faulty bus. “I can come back now, but with passengers, I don’t dare. Because some of the highways no light at all. Anything happen to me, I no problem.”
To this, his boss from Cityline said, “No difference mah, got passenger, no passenger, no difference. Just drive straight. Keep to the left and you just go straight. Got any difference meh? I don’t understand why no passengers you can, but with passengers you cannot.”
^ Video of Cityline employer telling the driver to continue picking up passengers on a bus without the rearview mirror because there is “no difference” if there are passengers or not.
Understanding that the driver was not in a good position to persuade his boss, the passenger thought that as a paying customer, he would be able to help back him up. Upon calling the Cityline boss’s number, he was instead told:
“Since you arrived and you are safe, then you are ok what.”
“This is none of your business, our management will handle.”
“If you are so smart then why don't you manage him and tell him to work for you instead?”
Left with no other choice, the driver was forced to comply with his boss’s orders and drive the broken bus back to Singapore. He was so worried for his life that he gave the passenger’s phone number to his loved ones so they could call someone in case they didn’t hear from him.
However, minutes later, the bus broke down in the middle of the road and the engine could not be started. When the driver informed his boss about this, he was told to wait till someone from the company picked him up. The driver waited for 10 hours, but no one came for him. He ended up having to sleep on the bus. Without water or food for so long, he was incredibly exhausted, and took a taxi to a relative’s house nearby. Days later, the driver was removed from Cityline’s Whatsapp chat group and a few days after that he found out that his work permit was cancelled.
Contacting SG Bus Drivers for help: Building a case of unfair dismissal and stolen wages
When the bus driver contacted the helpful passenger, telling him that he had been fired, the passenger contacted SG Bus Drivers (SGBD) and with their help, filed complaints to the police and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) against Cityline Global Pte Ltd. To his shock, the driver found out that Cityline Global had also filed a police report against him, on spurious grounds, claiming missing company properties.
SGBD also assisted the driver to file a complaint to the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) (located within Ministry of Manpower (MOM) premises) regarding unfair dismissal and unpaid salary. The company had not paid him any money for work done from 1st June to 8th July 2024, when they fired him.
While speaking with him, members of SGBD realised that he had been robbed of overtime pay. Cityline had told the driver that he would only be paid on a fixed rate per trip ($160) regardless of how long the trips were, even though on paper, he was entitled to a basic salary of $1600 and overtime pay for additional hours. SGBD calculated that for just 10 days of work, the driver had already clocked up to 96 hours of overtime, all unpaid.
However, when a member of SGBD accompanied him to file his claims at TADM, the officers said he had no claim for wrongful dismissal. They said that the employer was allowed to dismiss him under these circumstances.
This is outrageous. How can employers be allowed to dismiss workers for voicing out safety concerns, or being unable to fulfil boss’s orders due to breakdowns?
With the high rate of workplace injuries, deaths, as well as road accidents, workers who prioritise safety should be protected. It is drivers who have a sense of responsibility and care for the safety of others who keep our roads safe. But if drivers are instead punished by their companies for prioritising safety, their instinct to do the right thing is overridden, putting us all at greater risk.
On the other hand, unscrupulous bus companies like Cityline who have dangerous practices should be investigated and punished. They forced a worker to put his life and the lives of passengers at risk so they wouldn’t lose out on profits, they abandoned their worker in the middle of the road, overnight, and then they fired him, pushing him and his family into financial distress. Will Cityline keep getting away with these inhumane practices?
At the mediation conducted by TADM regarding the driver’s unpaid wages, Cityline was not willing to pay the driver a single cent. It was only after the driver said he was willing to pursue his case in the Employment Claims Tribunal that Cityline budged. Even so, they only paid the driver $500 out of his total claim of $2156.07.
Why did TADM let Cityline Global Pte Ltd get away without paying the driver $1656.07, 77% of what he was rightfully owed to him?
A pattern of underpaying and overworking drivers?
Since then, SGBD has received reports that there are other drivers employed by Cityline who face similar issues. However, many are afraid that they will be fired - and if they are migrants, deported - for speaking up. We are aware that at least one other driver has come forward to file claims for salary and other abuses with the Ministry of Manpower. His salary claim is supposed to be heard later this month. We hope that TADM will do right by this driver and ensure a more positive outcome than the first driver had.
We understand that at least one other Cityline driver is also paid on a per-trip basis like the first driver who sought help from TADM. Given most drivers’ fear of speaking up, it is difficult to know if this is also the case for other drivers. By only paying drivers on a per-trip basis instead of their basic pay and overtime wages, how many drivers may Cityline be robbing of fair pay?
These drivers would have less to fear if the Ministry of Manpower proactively investigates Cityline for potentially underpaying their workers. We hope that MOM can do the right thing and protect these hard-working workers from further exploitation and abuse.
Cityline’s history of endangering passenger and road safety
Workers Make Possible’s (WMP) checks reveal that Cityline has been involved in multiple road accidents. Just months before this incident, in February, a Cityline bus caught fire just minutes after passengers alighted. In December 2023, a Cityline bus overturned on the highway, trapping three passengers. The company has also received many negative reviews on Google. Cityline has had at least three safety lapses in less than two years since being issued a travel agency licence - what exactly is the LTA’s and Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) threshold for the safety of travellers, and what will it take for them to strip the company of their licence?
WMP and SGBD are informed that the passenger who submitted a complaint to LTA in June (about the bus that broke down after the rearview mirror fell off) received a reply that the bus in question is due for an inspection and that they will refer the case to the STB to look into Cityline’s licensing. As of 1200H on 12th September 2024, Cityline Global Pte Ltd is still licensed by Singapore Tourism Board. This licence was issued to the company on 1st December 2022.
The long working working hours of coach bus drivers along the causeway
The Citlyline bus driver’s story is not just a story of one man’s hardship - it exposes the harsh working conditions of coach bus drivers who ferry passengers across the causeway. These workers work incredibly long hours. If a trip from Singapore to KL is 8 to 10 hours, and the driver is expected to also return the bus to Singapore and/or pick up passengers along the way, then the driver will be on the road for 16-20 hours. Some of the coach bus drivers drive longer distances, to further destinations in Malaysia and back. According to Singapore employment law, blue-collared workers are entitled to be paid overtime after 44 hours of work every week. For working such long hours, the least these drivers deserve is to be paid their rightful overtime pay. Wage theft should be treated as a criminal offence.
We hope that the relevant authorities will do what it takes to protect the safety of drivers and passengers who frequent one of the busiest border crossings in the world.