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HKFP
6 days ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Wall St Journal set to plead not guilty in unlawful termination suit filed by press union chief Selina Cheng
The Wall Street Journal is set to plead not guilty in a lawsuit against Selina Cheng, Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) chairperson, who accuses the American newspaper of unlawful dismissal after she took the helm of the press union. Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung on Wednesday reserved four days in December for the trial of the case between Cheng and her former employer, after the legal representative of Dow Jones Publishing Co. (Asia) Inc, the parent company of the Journal, indicated that the company would plead not guilty. The magistrate will meet both parties on November 7 for the media company to enter a formal plea, as well as finalise the admitted facts of the case for trial. The four-day trial is scheduled to start on December 18. Shortly after Cheng was fired from the Journal in July last year, she told reporters that she had been informed her position at the press union would be 'incompatible' with her job and that she had not had permission to take on the role. A spokesperson for Dow Jones told HKFP at the time that the company would not comment on 'specific individuals.' They also said that the Journal 'has been and continues to be a fierce and vocal advocate for press freedom in Hong Kong and around the world.' The HKJA chairperson filed a complaint with the Labour Department in November, after which it consulted the Department of Justice (DoJ) about whether to prosecute the Journal. The DoJ confirmed last month that it would not intervene in the case, as Cheng proceeded with private prosecution. Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance stipulates that it is an offence for an employer to prevent an employee from undertaking trade union membership and activities. An employer is also liable to conviction if they dismiss an employee for exercising those rights. Cheng was first elected chairperson of the HKJA at the union's annual general meeting on June 22 last year, with 100 votes in favour and two against. A new executive committee was also elected at the meeting. She was re-elected union chief last month. The HKJA, founded in 1968, has come under fire from Hong Kong authorities and state-backed media since the city was wracked by months-long protests and unrest in 2019. The press group has been accused of smearing the police force, allowing 'fake journalists' to join, and protecting protesters.
HKFP
27-06-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Gov't will not intervene in press union chief Selina Cheng's unlawful termination suit against Wall St Journal
The Department of Justice will not intervene in Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) chairperson Selina Cheng's lawsuit against her ex-employer the Wall Street Journal over her alleged unlawful termination after taking on the union's leadership role. Cheng's lawyer Adam Clermont said in a LinkedIn post on Friday that the DoJ has confirmed it would not be intervening in the private prosecution against Dow Jones & Company, the publisher of the US newspaper, 'allowing our pursuit of justice to proceed unimpeded.' HKFP has reached out to the justice department for comment. Under the Prosecution Code, the Secretary for Justice is entitled to intervene in private prosecution cases, and can take over the proceedings or shut the case down. The next hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts, according to judiciary records. Cheng was fired from the Wall Street Journal last July, telling reporters she was informed her position at the press union would be 'incompatible' with her job and that she did not have permission to take on the role. When she was terminated, the chief editor of the Wall Street Journal's foreign desk told her that her job had been eliminated due to restructuring, Cheng, who covered China's automobile and energy sectors for the paper, said. Cheng filed a complaint to the Labour Department last November, after which it consulted the Department of Justice on whether to prosecute the Wall Street Journal. During a court hearing in February, the justice department requested an eight-week adjournment in February to consider whether it would intervene in the case. Freedom of the press Clermont said in the post: 'This decision underscores the robustness of Hong Kong's legal system, which empowers individuals to hold foreign corporations accountable for violating rights guaranteed under Article 27 of the Basic Law, including freedom of the press, freedom of association and trade union participation.' 'This case is a testament to Hong Kong's commitment to upholding labor rights and ensuring a stable, equitable society under the rule of law and free from foreign interference.' Under Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance, an employer who prevents an employee from undertaking trade union membership and activities, and who terminates the employment of an employee for exercising those rights, is liable to conviction. A spokesperson for the Wall Street Journal's parent company, Dow Jones, told HKFP last year that it could confirm that personnel changes were made, but would not comment on specific individuals. The spokesperson added that the paper 'has been and continues to be a fierce and vocal advocate for press freedom in Hong Kong and around the world.'
RTHK
18-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Legco passes bill to boost part-timers' rights
Legco passes bill to boost part-timers' rights Labour chief Chris Sun says the government wants to improve the rights of part-time workers. Lawmakers on Wednesday passed legal changes that officials say will better protect labour rights for part-timers. Workers are currently only entitled to benefits like paid rest days and annual leave if they are employed under a continuous contract. Such a contract is defined as working four straight weeks for at least 18 hours a week, otherwise known as the "418 rule". The change to a "468 rule" now, means people working 68 hours over four weeks will be considered as continuously employed. Labour minister Chris Sun said the change will take effect six months after the new law is gazetted. He told lawmakers that as there have been changes in the labour market, the government initiated the amendment process three years ago, to improve the rights of workers. "This legal amendment is allowing greater flexibility in calculating work hours and lowering the threshold for what qualifies as a continuous contract, making it easier for employees to meet the revised continuous contract requirement," Sun said. "There will also be fewer disruptions to continuous employment in the event the workers' hours occasionally fall below the threshold in a certain week." Some lawmakers who own businesses expressed concern about the changes. Noting that employers often are the ones making roster decisions, Sun sought to allay their concerns by saying that the rule change would not give workers a bigger say on their working hours. Sun added that other clauses under the Employment Ordinance are unchanged, and workers who already qualify as working under a continuous contract are not affected by the bill's passage.
The Star
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Labour Day: Hong Kong raises rate of statutory minimum wage
n this Dec 3, 2024, file photo, people cross a street in Hong Kong's Central business district. - Photo: China Daily/ANN HONG KONG: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has raised the statutory minimum wage from HK$40 per hour to HK$42.1 per hour with effect from Labour Day, which fell on Thursday (May 1) this year. Under the Minimum Wage Ordinance, employees are protected by the statutory minimum wage regardless of whether they are monthly-rated, daily-rated, hourly-rated, piece-rated, permanent, casual, full-time or part-time, etc, or employed under a continuous contract as defined in the SAR's Employment Ordinance. The minimum wage, however, is not applicable to live-in domestic workers, student interns, and work experience students as specified in the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO), and persons to whom the Employment Ordinance does not apply, the government said in a notification. A special arrangement is provided under the MWO for employees with disabilities to opt for a productivity assessment to determine whether they should be remunerated at no less than the minimum wage or at a rate commensurate with their productivity. For employees with disabilities who have chosen the special arrangement, their employers must pay wages of not less than the amount calculated according to the new minimum wage rate and the degree of productivity assessed, the government added. According to the Labour Department, the monthly monetary cap on the requirement for employers to record the total number of hours worked by employees in a wage period under the Employment Ordinance has been raised from HK$16,300 to HK$17,200 per month, also with effect from Thursday. When wages payable to an employee in respect of a wage period are less than HK$17,200 per month, the employer is required to keep a record of the total number of hours worked by the employee in that wage period. - China Daily/ANN
RTHK
01-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
'Clear definition of gig workers needed'
'Clear definition of gig workers needed' Roy Ying says any definition of gig workers has to be precise and not overly broad, to help prevent possible disputes. File photo: RTHK A human resources expert said a lack of clarity over the definition of gig workers is hindering efforts to protect these employees in Hong Kong. Gig workers often refer to people who are paid per task, or in short-term and freelance work arrangements, rather than permanent employment. Typical examples include private tutors; hourly staff at exhibitions, events and restaurants; and content creators on social media. But there's no statutory definition. A 2020 report by the Law Reform Commission estimated that there may be as many as 700,000 gig workers in the city. The government has taken steps to better protect their rights, such as by revising the 'continuous contract' rule under the Employment Ordinance. Legislative amendments are currently vetted by the Legislative Council. If passed, people who work a total of 68 hours over four-week periods are entitled to statutory employment benefits, such as minimum wage, paid leave and work-injury compensation. It's a different story for the estimated 114,000 delivery couriers and ride-hailing drivers in the city, who are largely classified as freelancers, which means they don't enjoy statutory benefits. Last year, when Deliveroo exited Hong Kong, about 12,000 delivery couriers were left without severance pay or long-term service payment because the platform treated them as independent contractors. And recent rulings offered different views of employment status. In 2023, the Labour Tribunal ruled that six gig workers for the now-defunct Zeek delivery platform were employees, citing factors such as the company's control over work, pay structure and restrictions on subcontracting, which established an employment relationship. But in a more recent District Court decision involving a Deliveroo rider seeking compensation for work injury, the court found that the rider was an independent contractor, not an employee. In an interview with RTHK, Roy Ying, co-chair of the advocacy and policy research committee at the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, called on the government to step in and provide clarity. 'I'm actually more inclined to think that if a delivery worker only works a few hours a week, that is more likely to be a gig worker, unless the delivery worker is working near full-time,' he said. 'And that's why I think the statute needs to have a little bit more clarity, because if we rely on the judgement, as you can see, the District Court, the tribunals, they are the lower courts. There could be future appeals, and that is just adding uncertainty.' Ying added that the definition of gig workers has to be precise and not overly broad. "We also have to be mindful about the cost of compliance because there could be hundreds of thousands of gig workers around Hong Kong. 'And if we are setting the rules in a lenient way, then that means more people will claim that they are employees and that is going to open up quite a lot of disputes.' Ying stressed the need to reach a consensus through dialogue, with the government holding a longer public consultation and engaging all stakeholders. He also said Hong Kong could follow in the footsteps of the UK and establish a third type of employment status, between employees and the self-employed, so as to grant gig workers partial employment rights. 'The government can do a pilot case, ringfencing this special categorisation in one or two different sectors and see how it runs for one or two years before it is rolled out to different sectors. I think that is more of a prudent approach,' he said. 'It's pretty obvious. It's got to be all the platform workers, for example, the Uber drivers and the food delivery people.'
