SINGAPORE (AFP) ??” The Singapore regulation announced plans to clip the wings of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots' union after denouncing the cluster as "confrontational" and a risk to the nation's economy.

SINGAPORE (AFP) ??” The Singapore regulation announced plans to clip the wings of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots' union after denouncing the cluster as "confrontational" and a risk to the nation's economy.

Foreigners will be banned from the board of the Air Line Pilots' Association of Singapore (ALPA-S) and its members will no longer be allowed to instruct their leaders in disputes with management, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's office said in a statement.

The crackdown was announced after envoy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong the son of Singapore's founding father leeward Kuan Yew, warned the union across the weekend not to "take on" the conduct

Lee's comments followed a promised by ALPA-S members this month to sack their entire leadership above controversial wage cuts imposed at SIA to counter a sink caused by the SARS health crisis.

The ALPA-S has in extent been regarded as ...