World News

In the aftermath of the crackdown, Hong Kong has faced obstacles to organizing low wages Business and Economics

Hong Kong, China – When Foodpanda Hong Kong announced plans to reduce payments for each order by $ 2 ($ 0.25) earlier this month, Ahmad and hundreds of other cyclists went on strike.

“This was the boiling point,” Ahmad said, asking for the use of a nickname for fear of reprisals. “Everyone was very angry. They didn’t want to work because of such a low salary. ‘

The Pakistani entered the food delivery platform in 2020 during the pandemic when his trading business closed along the city’s borders.

With barely a week off, he can earn 30,000 Hong Kong dollars ($ 3,850) a month to support his family of four. However, as the restaurant reopened and demand for food dropped, the company reduced courier revenues by steadily reducing wages per order.

By October, it was also difficult for Ahmad to earn 25,000 Hong Kong dollars ($ 3,209) a month, five of which were for engine maintenance.

Shortly after Foodpanda announced a pay cut, hundreds of members of the fleet attended a Telegram group first formed by couriers to discuss technical issues in the company’s application.

“People came like flies,” Ahmad recalled, driven by a suspension of salary, arbitrary account and unreasonable penalties, among other things.

“We are humans, not dogs,” read the signs attached to their motorcycles and bicycles during the November 13-14 strike, which forced the Foodpanda negotiating table, where its leaders agreed on a more generous compensation package on Thursday.

The situation of concert workers is not unique to Hong Kong, but those at the global financial center now have a particularly fine line.

In one of the most unequal cities on earth, workers are against their companies, under laws that favor employers over workers, rather than against a government that is increasingly intolerant of any organization and dissent.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions for Democracy voted to disband last month, citing political pressure after the adoption of a comprehensive national security law. [File: Tyrone Siu/Reuters]

Last month, the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), the city’s largest independent trade union coalition, announced its decision to disband, joining a long list of civil society organizations that have crumbled under pressure from a broad national security law imposed by Beijing after the mass. pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The founder of CTU and other union leaders are behind prisoners in alleged protests or alleged violations of the national security law, which has wiped out almost all political opposition and silenced pro-democracy organizations and the media in the former British colony. Beijing and the Hong Kong government have praised the security law for restoring peace and stability in the city after months of violent protests.

Without an umbrella group, unions remain “a snail without a shell,” a former member said.

The changed political atmosphere has also been felt among the workers organized on the ground.

On Wednesday, representatives of Foodpanda couriers were negotiating with the company, warning dozens of cyclists who were meeting outside to attend an unauthorized assembly, and threatened them with fines for violating social distance rules.

The dissolution of the CTU was inevitable, with the disappearance of a relatively free political system that ensured pluralism in the decades following the city’s transfer to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, said executive member Denny To, speaking from the former office of the umbrella group in the bustling Mong Kok neighborhood.

“The way forward is something we have to find on our own,” Tok said. “The work of a labor union is long and slow. It remains a question of whether it is sustainable after decentralization. ”

Hong Kong has one of the most serious wealth inequalities on the planet [File: Chan Long Hei]

In 2017, To, also head of the Cleaning Industry Service Workers Union, led cleaners in a public home on a 10-day strike, which led to the resumption of dismissal payments and a pay rise – a rare victory for basic workers. .

His team constantly worked behind the scenes, raising money for workers during their strike, gathering support from residents and contacting the media.

Their victory sparked a wave of labor action in public housing and pushed the Hong Kong government to change the law in 2019. A new clause requires the contractor to pay employees a free end-of-contract contract.

However, as the cleaning contractor was about to end last month, his employer complained that he had embarked on an old trick: leaving the staff and thus paying severance pay. Some cleaners said they were tricked into signing additional contracts that denied them the free right, and a handful who refused said they would face pay cuts and other penalties.

In today’s political climate, it’s hard to imagine repeating Tok’s campaign in favor of cleaners. The CTU is no longer able to provide the same support, while its allies in public office have moved away from the political system. Yeung Yuk, a district councilor who allied with the cleaners, was among more than 200 opposition councilors who resigned under pressure in July.

“Basic workers may not have a sharp political sense, but there are no disagreements,” Tok said. “They realize that those who are on their side are disintegrating and talking about them is doing a tremendous disservice to their confidence.”

To said he feared that it would be difficult to increase the voice of workers in Hong Kong, where advocates say labor protections are already being met with laxity and weakness.

“Labor protections have always been weak in Hong Kong. Without our voice, the government can actively improve its own policies only when pigs fly, ”he said.

Ho Hung Hing, head of the General Union of Hospitality and Hotel Industries Employees, a former affiliate of CTU, said the government had done little to maintain standards in the concert economy.

“Even without the CTU, our network will not disappear and we will continue to organize,” Hok said, “but without a representative in the parliamentary system, our proclamation can never reach Parliament.”

Silver lining

There is, however, silver, as the case of the Foodpanda messengers shows. Although the company did not increase the fee for each application, citing its overall strategy, it agreed to suspend the rate reduction until June next year, pay bonuses during peak hours and offer other compensation.

Speaking to the media after the deal, Foodpanda’s Hong Kong operations director Pedros Dias blamed the conflict for “poor communication” with the fleet, although many cyclists complained that they had little way of listening to themselves.

Hok, who represented the Foodpanda riders in the negotiations, said there was a unified attitude of the staff towards success, making a strong statement that cannot be ignored.

Although many of the progressive unions formed in the 2019 protests were disbanded as a result of political repression, Ho thanked the social movement for pushing for a new political awakening and encouraging citizen participation.

“A citywide strike is not yet available, but people realized that by going on strike, they are taking part in an industrial action that could have an impact on the city’s politics and economy,” Hok said.

“Employees understand that they need to talk when they see something wrong. The ship that brings unions together may disappear, but people are still alive and doing what they can in each of their industries. ”

As for Ahmad, he’s on the engine again. He was not entirely satisfied with the outcome of the strike and admitted that he had to make a commitment. But now it is giving food that messengers can harness their collective power to demand change.

“This is our home, our family and our survival in Hong Kong,” he said.




Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button