Council of Joint Action is established

The Council of Joint Action was an action committee established in July 1952 to demand for fairer terms of service for locally domiciled officers, in particular the lower-wage officers, in the colonial civil service.^[1] The council came into being after the British colonial government granted marriage and family allowances to expatriate government officers but refused to extend the same benefit to local government officers. The latter viewed the decision as an act of discrimination and decided to start an action committee to lodge a claim for equal treatment before the colonial government.^[2]

The Council of Joint Action comprised representatives drawn from 22 government employees’ unions and associations, including the Senior Officers Association.^[3] The leaders of the council were Kenneth Michael Byrne, Goh Keng Swee and S. Rajaratnam, together with Lee Kuan Yew as the secretary. These four men would later play a part in the founding of the People’s Action Party (PAP) with Lee becoming the first prime minister of Singapore in 1959.^[4]

In an attempt to pressure the colonial government, the council organised a mass meeting at the Victoria Memorial Hall on 14 November 1952, which was attended by over 2,000 local officers. The meeting adopted resolutions that accused the colonial government of practising racial discrimination by granting marriage and family allowances to expatriate officers only.^[5] The colonial government initially responded by charging Byrne for gross insubordination as he had made a statement to the press without authority, which was considered a breach of General Orders.^[6] However, the charges were later dropped and the government entered into negotiations with the council in August 1953 over the implementation of the recommendations given in the Ritson report. Compiled by Sir Edward Ritson, who was then the deputy chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue in Britain, the report covered matters such as government pay and allowances.^[7] After numerous rounds of negotiations, the government finally agreed on 17 March 1954 to increase the pay for lower-wage local officers. The officers were also granted family allowance, which was incorporated into their basic pay, and an increase in cost-of-living allowances.^[8]

References
1. Lee, K. Y. (2000). The Singapore story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew (pp. 154–155). Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. Call no.: RSING 959.57 LEE.
2. Yeo, K. M. (1973). Political development in Singapore, 1945–55 (pp. 119–120). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Call no.: RSING 320.95957 YEO.
3. Senior staff, daily paid men plan joint action. (1952, November 6). The Straits Times, p. 1; 22 unions submit pay plan. (1953, July 28). The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Ng, I. (2010). The Singapore Lion: A biography of S. Rajaratnam (p. 152). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Call no.: RSING 327.59570092 NG.
5. 2,000 officers protest over delay on family allowances. (1952, November 15). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. Now Byrne gets a reprimand but he may appeal. (1953, July 23). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Ritson plan? We’ve had one for years, say businessmen. (1953, June 18). The Straits Times, p. 5; Byrne case ‘ends happily’. (1953, August 8). The Straits Times, p. 1; Ritson plan talk by govt. unions. (1953, August 19). The Straits Times, p. 7. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
8. Govt. wins – ‘Our critics had no better plan’. (1954, March 18). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.