Four Chinese bus drivers charged with instigating an illegal strike were granted bail on Thursday.

The drivers told the judge that they all would like to get lawyers to represent them when they appeared before the Subordinate Court on Thursday morning.

Three of them, who face charge of instigating an illegal strike, were granted bail of 10,000 Singapore dollars (8,197 US dollars) each, while He Junling, the other driver who faces an additional charge of inciting an illegal strike, was granted bail of 20,000 Singapore dollars (16,294 US dollars).

The drivers told the judge that they were not able to raise the money.

Liu Xiangying, one of the four drivers, stepped out of the building of the Subordinate Court on Thursday afternoon.

The judge said the case will be mentioned on Dec. 12.

A total of 171 Chinese bus drivers took medical leave on Nov. 26 in protest against inequitable pay rises by local public transport operator SMRT, and 88 of them stayed away from work on the following day.

Five drivers were soon arrested and charged, while 29 others had their work permits revoked and were deported to China. Bao Fengshan, one of the five drivers, was sentenced to six weeks in jail on Monday. He was not represented by a lawyer and pleaded guilty to the charge for his role in the rare strike.

If convicted, the four drivers will face a fine of up to 2,000 Singapore dollars (1,639 US dollars), or a maximum imprisonment of 12 months, or both on each charge.

Singapore government has reiterated its policy of "zero tolerance for illegal strikes" and Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin has described the drivers' action as an illegal strike.

Industrial actions have been rare in Singapore over the past decades as the authorities put in place measures that allow consultations involving the workers, the employers and the government, while at the same time putting in place legal rules that make it as difficult as it can be to have a legal strike.