
‘All for nothing': Hong Kong workers complain of losing jobs to imported labour
Advertisement
Feeling angry and mistreated, Cheng, 67, who helped wash dishes, clean tables and sell beers at the traditional dai pai dong, said her loyalty over the years had all been 'for nothing'.
'I thought I just had a few more years to work before retirement, and the stall had at least 28 workers … How could I expect I would be the first to be targeted?' Cheng said.
Over the past six months, Cheng and 200 other restaurant workers have
reported being sacked and replaced by labourers who came to the city via an import scheme, according to the Eating Establishment Employees General Union.
Unionists and human rights advocacy group the Society for Community Organisation raised concerns about the impact of the scheme ahead of Labour Day on May 1, saying they had heard and received reports from local workers who were replaced by imported labourers.
The government said in 2023 that authorities would ensure city jobseekers were given priority in employment. Photo: Jelly Tse
To combat the city's manpower shortage, the government in September 2023 allowed employers to bring in unlimited unskilled or low-skilled workers from the mainland for 26 new job types, including waiters, junior chefs, and hospitality and sales staff in catering.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump's Arctic strategy stirs debate over China's polar shipping ambitions
, particularly by developing shipping routes. As US President Donald Trump reiterates his desire to acquire Greenland – part of a broader push to assert influence in the Arctic – Chinese scholars are debating whether the world's second-largest economy should become more involved in the regionparticularly by developing shipping routes. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) – the shortest passage between the Asia-Pacific region and western Eurasia – has drawn growing attention as global warming makes its icy waters navigable for longer periods each year. Trump, who has pledged to buy or annex Greenland, views the Arctic as vital to advancing US commercial and strategic interests – from securing natural resources to countering Chinese and Russian influence. His ambition, outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law on July 4, allocates nearly US$9 billion for icebreakers – a 'historic investment in US Arctic security' aimed at putting 'America back in charge of the frozen frontier', according to the White House. As Washington increases its focus on the region, China – a 'Near-Arctic State' and observer of the Arctic Council – must seize new shipping opportunities, according to Zhang Cheng and Su Anqi, scholars at Wuhan University. 'Arctic shipping routes offer advantages in terms of cost and efficiency over traditional routes, making them a potential new pathway to counter US geopolitical containment,' they wrote in the June issue of China Review.


RTHK
3 days ago
- RTHK
Hydrogen set to power EV stations at Science Park
Hydrogen set to power EV stations at Science Park Hydrogen will be used to generate power for five electric vehicle charging stations starting from the second quarter of next year at Hong Kong Science Park. Photo: RTHK Hong Kong and China Gas (Towngas) has established a partnership with Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks on Friday to develop Hong Kong's first electric vehicle charging system using purely hydrogen. The system, located in Science Park, is expected to start operations in the second quarter of next year, providing electricity to EV charging stations in the park, Towngas said. The process and system involves hydrogen extraction, power generation, energy storage and electrical control equipment. Hydrogen with a purity of over 99.97 percent will be directly extracted from the gas network to power fuel cells that can generate electricity for five EV charging stations located in the park. The gas is also a cleaner source of energy as only water vapour will be produced during the power-generation process. Don Cheng, chief operating officer of Hong Kong business at Towngas, said the project will show the public that hydrogen can be a viable energy source. 'We give more choices for the customer and then as time goes by, if the scale ... gets ... much bigger, the cost will go down,' Cheng said. 'We only have five EV chargers ... [so] the fixed cost will be a lot, but if I have 50 or 500, then we can kind of like amortize or diversify the cost, spread out to each EV charger. "So the significance is that let the customer to have a choice to see hydrogen really can be used in public,' he added. Science Park's chief operations officer Filla Mak said the five EV charging stations are near public light bus and taxi stands so the public has easy access to the facilities. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said an interdepartmental working group has approved 27 trial projects on hydrogen fuel, including production and transportation.


South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong seeks new partner to get 11 Skies back on track amid New World's debt: sources
Airport Authority Hong Kong is in talks with New World Development (NWD) to get a massive commercial property project at the heart of Hong Kong's international airport back on track, according to several sources familiar with the matter. Advertisement The authority is considering the option of seeking a new partner to undertake and complete the work at 11 Skies shopping centre, which was awarded in 2018, the sources said. The financial terms of the move are still under negotiation, they said, declining to be identified for discussing a confidential matter. The move, viewed as a win-win solution for both parties, would offer relief to NWD, which is undergoing the biggest debt workout in three generations of ownership by the Cheng family. For the authority, it ensures that the city's status as an aviation and tourism hub is shielded from the developer's debt woes. The major sticking point in the talks is the potential compensation due to the authority for the 40-year contract, one of the sources said. NWD is under contract to pay the authority HK$1.8 billion (US$229.3 million) every year in guaranteed rent, the sources said. The authority's press office and spokespeople at NWD did not respond to requests for comment. The blueprint for Airport City – including 11 Skies – was first unveiled in 2019. Photo: Airport Authority of Hong Kong The project, with 3.8 million sq ft (353,000 square metres) of gross floor area, is part of the airport authority's SkyCity master plan , which combines shopping, entertainment, dining, commercial offices and several hotels in a 25 hectare (61.8 acre) area to undergird Hong Kong's status as Asia's aviation and international travel hub. The talks are focused on the retail, dining and entertainment space of 11 Skies, according to a source. The project also features three office towers that are not within the scope of discussion.