James was not involved directly in the trade union dispute. He worked closely with Goh Keng Swee in the preparation of Singapore’s First development plan.
The left sought to consolidate its power base within the trade union movement. The PAP responded by creating what Tim Harper called “a phony war”. In May 1960 the PAP introduced the Trades Union Bill
restricting membership of unions aimed at curtailing the actions of the trade unions. The “big six” – Lim Chin Siong, S.T. Bani, Woodhull, Jamit Singh, Fong Swee Suan, and Dominic Puthucheary – began to take
charge of the trade unions and dominate the National Union of Trade Unions (NTUC) With Lim’s faction now in formal control of the labour movement, the PAP cancelled the registration of the NTUC and withdrew the Trades Union bill.