Singapore's SMRT saga driven by miscalculation

In wealthy Singapore, laborers from China are known to be a cheap, stoic and resigned lot. They speak little English, if any, and toil at jobs shunned by local people as too menial and dirty, without much complaint.

So, many Singaporeans were shocked when 171 Chinese bus drivers staged a two-day walkout against their employer SMRT over low pay and poor living conditions two weeks ago, effectively ending the city-state's 26-year strike-free streak.

The saga is coming to a close as Singapore has charged five and deported 29 Chinese of the bus drivers for going on an illegal strike. SMRT, on its part, has raised the salary of other Chinese drivers only slightly, while making efforts to improve workers' living conditions, such as fumigating their dormitories to get rid of bed bugs.