Singapore strike exposes labor tensions

SINGAPORE — With its drab dormitories and factory buildings, the Woodlands industrial area of Singapore could not be further removed from the city-state’s image as a burgeoning Asian financial center.

But this week, 259 bus drivers from mainland China went on a two-day strike at a public bus company in a protest over pay and living conditions, including an infestation of bed bugs in mattresses at the company’s rented dormitories in the area.