In a letter to Mr Herbert Schulz, Charge d'Affairs of the US embassy, May 30, Dr Chee Soon Juan, the centre’s director, referred to the recent visit of Ralph Ives from the Office of the United States Trade Representative to Singapore for FTA negotiations.

“The Open Singapore Centre is concerned about the non-public nature of the negotiations between the two governments. Rather than have these discussions behind closed doors, the Singaporean public is entitled to know the conditions under which the FTA is going to be signed,” Dr Chee said.

The OSC is concerned about the lack of an independent labour movement, free of all government or ruling party connections, in Singapore.

“Because of this, the rights and interests of the workers in Singapore are not adequately represented,” he said

An example is the lack of provision for minimum wage in Singapore, he said. “The lack of democracy and openness in the country makes it impossible for Singaporeans to express their concerns about trade arrangements that may not benefit them, he said.

Dr Chee asked the Charge d'Affairs to meet him and Mr J B Jeyaretnam, the centre’s chairman and to participate in a forum the center plans to enable the Singaporeans to learn more about the FTA and to be part of the process of the negotiations.