Completely pro-capital, pro-imperialist, anti-worker, antipeople” – these were some of the slogans brandished by the Barisan Sosialis and pro-communist unions against what they called the “blood-sucking, man-eating Employment Bill”.

Out to fan public alarm about the bill, they painted such slogans in public spaces, held protests, and distributed pamphlets saying that the proposed law “exposes the out-and-out vile, reactionary anti-worker, fascist features of the LKY puppets”. Their condemnations were soon joined by a chorus of anti-PAP critics lambasting the government for helping foreign investors and local capitalists to grow rich at the expense of the poor.

Raja had fully expected such vitriol from the pro-communists after he tabled the Employment Bill on 15 May 1968. He also knew that their defiance would put pressure on the NTUC, which was anxious to show that it was no PAP puppet. What he could not predict was how the general public would react.

The controversial bill had been crafted as an omnibus law to replace three former ordinances relating to employment and working conditions, but it was the 10 new clauses, of course, that provoked the outcry. Among other things, they limited sick leave, including hospitalisation, to 28 days (primarily to combat the malpractice of malingering); prohibited the employment of persons aged 55 or older, except by special permission of the Commissioner of Labour (aimed at freeing up jobs for young workers); and tied the payment of bonuses to productivity and performance rather than leaving it as a matter for negotiation (to maintain the incentive purpose of bonuses).

Another contentious clause involved payment for overtime work – it would do away with triple pay for work on public holidays and Sundays, and limit overtime work to 48 hours a month. This was to root out the practice of slowing down during weekdays in order to work overtime for the triple pay, and to encourage employers to hire more staff rather than make the existing employees work more overtime.