Journal of the group meeting

What we discuss in the group meeting
First meeting 1 September 1.30 pm to 3 pm
We went through all the sources and sorted them out. Continue our research on the sources by the next meeting.We finished all our sources that day.We found out how the people suffered and the unfair treatment.  We explore more about how the Hock Lee Bus riot started. We also discussed how the new government had to tackle the challenges posed by a strengthened Communist movement which organised regular industrial disputes and strikes. One strike that turned 
violent was the Hock Lee Bus strike. The Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company was one of several small bus companies operating in Singapore in the 1950s. The bus workers belonged to two unions, Singapore Bus Workers Union and Hock Lee Employee's Union. Finally, we also discussed how the country and the people were affected by the riot and how the riot affect its country development in the future.

Second meeting 7 September 2014 1 pm to 3.30 pm

Discussion question: Why should we remember the hock lee bus riots?

Well it served as a lesson for the people. The people under circumstances will not go on a strike unless it is really necessary as they might have the possibility of losing their job and might even be jailed or fined. What I feel that caused the strike is because the hock lee bus company didn't handle it well and enrage the people thus from a strike it turned into a riot.Also, we saw that life was unfair in the past, those who were Chinese educated were not treated fairly as those who were English educated, such that even with the same qualifications and positions in a company, the Chinese educated worker would be paid lesser than the English educated worker. The government also funded the English schools more than the Chinese schools, with Chung Cheng being one of them in the past.David Marshall tried to hep but people misunderstood him and thought he was against them.

Source Comparison

Source A:http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_4_2005-01-06.html

Source B:http://coordinativecolonel.blogspot.sg/2014/08/hock-lee-bus-riots.html

Similarities
1)Both sources are similar in that they both show that the workers of the Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company who went on strike had people who agreed that they were not treated fairly.

Source A states that “Joined by supporters and Chinese middle school students, these strikers picketed the bus depot and disrupted bus services.”

Source B states that “To support these workers, more than 10,000 students from Chinese schools have arrived day after day in lorries.”

These Sources tell us that the public were also against the company and wanted to aid the workers in attempting to get a raise through a strike.



2)Both sources are similar in that David Marshall attempted to ease the problem and tried to stop the riot.

Source A states that “Marshall persuaded the management to offer to reinstate the workers and a Court of Inquiry presided by District Judge F. A. Chua was appointed to look into the circumstances of the dispute.” and “However, Fong, the secretary of the SBWU, said he had signed the agreement without the consent of the general workers and backed out of the agreement.”

Source B states that “Chief Minister David Marshall attempted to settle the dispute between the bus company and the union by setting up a Commission of Inquiry. However, both parties failed to reach an agreement.”

This Source shows that Marshall tried to let the workers get their jobs back in order to calm the tension between the company and the workers, but ultimately failed as they were not able to come to terms with the issue.

3)Both sources are similar in the number of victims of the riot

Source A:"four deaths and 31 people injured."
Source B:" Four people were killed and 31 injured."
This shows that both have the same number of victims and the the causalities of the riot.  

Differences

1)Sources A and B are different in mentioning the method of controlling the rioters by the police.

Source A states that “Police were called in to disperse the crowds and resorted to using water jets when warnings failed.”

This tells us that the authorities did not resort to violence and used harmless methods of controlling the workers who were rioting at that time.

Source B states that “The police had to use batons in order to clear the crowd and as a result, 15 people were injured.”

This tell us that the law enforcement agency deliberately wanted to cause harm to the rioters, with the use of batons. They had used physical violence in order to dissolve the mob, contrary to the previous method.

As such, sources A and B are different in telling us how the police dealt with the rioters, with them using water jets in Source A and using batons in Source B.

2)Sources A and B are different in the outcome of the workers during the aftermath of the Hock Lee Bus Riots.

Source A states that “In late May, Gamba ruled in favour of the SBWU. As a result, 85 out of 170 workers of the dissolved Hock Lee Bus Employees’ Union lost their jobs.”

This tells us that only half of the workers were given their contracts back, with the other half losing their livelihoods.

Source B states that “The Strike came to an end on 14 May 1955. The sacked workers got their jobs back.”

This tell us that all the workers were able to return to their daily routine of providing bus services.

As such, Sources A and B are different in stating the number of workers who were able to get their jobs back.