Petition Does Work as Jurong West Hawkers Won’t Need to Pay $0.20 for a Tray Soon

A wise old man once said, “You ask liao hor you will receive one leh. Confirm plus chop.”

So yesterday, I asked my boss if I can receive my pay earlier. He told me to drink pee and eat shit instead.

The wise old man isn’t that wise after all.

Or is he?

Because in Jurong West, hawkers gathered, started a petition and asked for a change. And just like what the wise old man advocated, they asked and they received.

A Recap of What’s Happened

Over in Jurong West Hawker Centre, which opened just a year ago and is run as a social enterprise (i.e. the landlord isn’t a for-profit company / individual), the hawkers were made to pay $0.20 for every tray that the patrons take.

This is unlike other new hawker centres whereby patrons would pay a deposit of $0.50 to $1 for a tray, and get the deposit back if they return the tray. Simply put, Jurong West Hawker Centre is the only hawker in Singapore to “charge” hawkers for tray.

This of course would have created disputes: hawkers would be reluctant to provide trays since it’ll eat into their bottom line, and patrons won’t be pleased to carry three bowls of laska with their bare hands to their table.

According to the management, which is called Hawker Management but is actually a social enterprise subsidiary of Koufu, the system is to serve two objectives: “to collectively encourage customers to return their used trays and thereby creating a cleaner and more comfortable environment; and to increase productivity within the hawker centre and provide more affordable food options for the community.”

This is me after reading that:

But anyways. Twelve hawkers decided to start a petition in August, asking for a change.

Earlier this week, Hawker Management then said that they would be meeting up with the hawkers “over the next few days to gather tenants’ feedback and views on all outstanding concerns”.

Well, there is now finally an end to one of the issues.

Just one.

Hawkers No Longer Need to Pay for Trays

Yeah. Not sure why this wasn’t implemented right from the start, but at least a change is coming.

It will follow the system in other hawker centres, whereby patrons would pay a deposit and get the deposit back should they return the tray. The difference is that the deposit is mere $0.20 instead of the typical $0.50 or $1.

According to Hawker Management, it’s “in line with the objective to encourage a gracious society where patrons play a proactive role in returning their trays, the tray return initiative will thereby help to reduce cleaning fees for tenants while easing the workload of the cleaners.”

Okay.

Here I come again.

Anyway, the system won’t start immediately; they’ll be working with the hawkers to “work out the mechanics and operational details,” and would announce when it’ll begin.

The tray return system isn’t just the hawkers’ complaints, though.

Contract Over Early Termination

One complaint that hawkers have is the early termination clause: should hawkers wish to terminate their contract early (i.e. stop renting before the lease is over), they’ll still have to pay the rent until the end of the contract period.

Now, I’m not being bias but isn’t this the same for all contracts? Though it’ll be rather tough for hawkers, since it’s like telling them that they can “never resign” from a job even if the income drops or if they need to “quit” prematurely due to unforeseen circumstances.

In any case, Hawker Management is looking into it, stating that they have “also noted all other feedback and comments gathered from the meetings, including contractual terms, and are in the midst of reviewing them internally, with a view to address all outstanding matters quickly.”

Not sure about you, but that’s actually something we Singaporeans should be proud of. A problem occurs, and we solved it amicably and professionally without having to resort actions that might have serious repercussions, like a strike.

So kudos to both the hawkers in Jurong West Hawker Centre and Hawker Management.

Perhaps I should also get all my colleagues to start a petition and ask our boss to pay us daily instead of monthly. Maybe it’ll work.