SMRT kicks off probe on drivers' no-show

Over 100 Service Leaders ditched their duties.

According to an SMRT release, on 26 November 2012, 171 Service Leaders from China did not report for duty. At a dialogue with the Service Leaders yesterday, SMRT assured the Service Leaders it will look into their concerns, while the Service Leaders agreed to return to work the next day.

However, despite the agreement, 68 and 20 of the SLs who were on the morning and afternoon shift respectively did not show up for work on 27 Nov.

SMRT Management takes a serious view of the bus service delays that were brought about by the irresponsible behavior of the Service Leaders (SLs) who did not report for work as scheduled.

SMRT's priority is to ensure that bus services are restored to normal as soon as possible. In accordance with our obligation as a Public Transport Operator, SMRT has lodged a police report for further investigation into possible breaches of the law.

At the same time, the company is conducting its own investigations on whether terms of employment have been breached.

SMRT will continue to engage all our SLs from China to explain the situation, and urges SLs not to take matters into their own hands but to make use of the proper channels to discuss workplace matters.

SMRT would like to assure SLs who were not involved in the actions over the last two days, that the company continues to value their services.

Executive Vice President (Roads & Commercial) Ms Teo Chew Hoon said: "We have stressed to the SLs that the lines of communication to management remain open and they should not take such unlawful actions to air their grievances. We apologise to all commuters for the inconvenience caused, and thank all the Service Leaders who put in their best efforts over the past two days to cover the duties of those who were absent."