By Ryan Chan
With the recent announcement on 15 July 2016 that SMRT Trains Limited will transfer the ownership of its North-South, East-West, Circle and Bukit Panjang LRT lines to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) as part of the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF), the Labour Movement has come out to say it will ensure workers are well taken care of.
National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) Executive Secretary Melvin Yong said in a Facebook post: “The union will study the NRFF in greater detail to assess its implications on our rail workers, and we will continue to work closely with LTA and SMRT to ensure our workers’ interests and welfare are taken care of.”
Focus on Operations
The NRFF, which was announced by the Government in 2008, will allow operators to focus on the maintenance of their lines and improve train reliability and performance. Currently, the other line operating under the NRFF is the Downtown line, which is operated by SBS Transit. SMRT’s assets will be transferred to LTA on 30 September 2016.
Under the previous framework, rail operators were responsible for capacity expansion, and replacement and upgrading works, while keeping the lines running smoothly.
Operators will pay an annual license charge that will go into a railway sinking fund for building-up, replacement and upgrading costs, decisions which LTA will oversee.
New Maintenance Performance Standards have also been imposed by LTA. To meet them, SMRT has pledged to increase its maintenance staff by 20 per cent – about 700 employees – over the next three years.
Additional Assurance
Subsequently, Temasek Holdings announced a $1.18 billion offer on 20 July 2016 to buy out the rail operator to allow SMRT greater flexibility to focus on delivering safe and high quality rail service without the distraction of its obligations as a listed company.
The Labour Movement stepped forward once again to reassure workers of the union’s assistance in helping them through the transition.
In a separate Facebook post, Mr Yong said: “With the announcement by Temasek on its offer to buy out SMRT, workers of SMRT would naturally be concerned if their jobs might be affected.
“SMRT management has assured NTWU that no SMRT staff will lose his or her job. In the coming weeks, the union will continue to work closely with SMRT to hold staff engagement sessions to help staff understand the NRFF and the Temasek offer, as well as address their queries and concerns."
Source: NTUC This Week
