1 Workers protesting over unpaid wages cause traffic chaos in Tseung Kwan O
Agnes Lam, SCMP 10 January 2008
About 60 angry construction workers blocked Wan Po Road to protest against unpaid wages, causing traffic chaos in Tseung Kwan O yesterday.
The workers, who first protested outside a residential project on Wan Po Road at 8am, extended their battlefield an hour later, blocking traffic during rush hour.
They accused the main contractor, Able Engineering Company, and the subcontractor, May's Asia, of not paying three months' wages and owing them about HK$1 million in total.
Seven workers' representatives and the main contractor held talks at 10.30am, and traffic resumed to normal about 30 minutes later.
Choi Chun-wah, of the Federation of Trade Unions, said Able agreed to pay workers after the meeting, which ended shortly before 4pm. May's Asia did not attend.
"Workers should be able to recover their unpaid wages after they have finished their registration," he said.
The Labour Department sent staff to help register workers' details so they could help them follow up. "We will serve as a mediator to help workers recover unpaid wages," said a department spokesman.
But a spokesman for May's Asia said it had tried to help workers get their pay from Able since September, and it would file a lawsuit against Able for breach of contract.
"Able has withheld money that should have been paid to us between September and November," he said. "We already paid the workers from our own pockets in September and October. Able is only using the money that should be ours to pay the workers and pretend to be the hero." The spokesman said Able had refused to pay at a meeting with May's Asia on Monday.
Able would not comment.
One protester said most of the affected workers built walls for flats. "The subcontractor has not paid us a penny for months. They owe me about HK$60,000."
The workers said they had been asking the subcontractor when they would be paid, while the main contractor had refused to meet until yesterday.
Developers of the residential project, Cheung Kong (Holdings), said: "The labour dispute has nothing to do with our company. We have already asked the main contractor to handle the matter."
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the dispute was an isolated case.
"About 60 workers have already registered with the Labour Department about their cases," he said. "The labour market has been quite good recently, and the number of big labour disputes handled by the department in 2007 dropped by over 30 per cent compared with 2006."
In June last year, about 100 construction workers at the same site protested over unpaid wages, causing traffic chaos during the evening rush hour.
2 Letter of Acceptance issued for Tamar Project (With video)
Hong Kong Government, 10 January 2008
The Government yesterday (January 9) issued a Letter of Acceptance to the Gammon-Hip Hing Joint Venture (G-HH JV) for the design-and-build contract of the Tamar Development Project.
The Letter of Acceptance allows the G-HH JV to start the detailed work needed to execute the contract. The letter is legally binding on the Government and the G-HH JV.
The contract covers the design and construction of the Central Government Complex, the Legislative Council Complex, an open space of not less than two hectares, two covered pedestrian footbridges and other ancillary facilities. The contract is worth $4.94 billion.
The G-HH JV was the highest-scoring tender assessed by the Special Selection Board for the Tamar Development Project.
The Government issued a non-binding Letter of Intent to the G-HH JV in July 2007 so that it could proceed to obtain the necessary planning permission from the Town Planning Board. The Town Planning Board granted permission to the G-HH JV's tender design under Section 16 of the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) in October 2007.
"The Government is very delighted that works for this important project will soon commence," said Miss Jennifer Mak, Director of Administration.
"A workforce of over 3,000 will be engaged at the peak of the project's construction period, which will help ease unemployment in the construction sector.
"It will also help solve the acute shortage of office space faced by the Government and Legislative Council.
"We look forward to working with the G-HH JV to bring this important project to life. It will provide our city with a new and iconic civic centre, and greatly enhance connectivity to the harbourfront and surrounding areas," she said.
The Tamar complex will be one of the government's "greenest" complexes when completed in 2011.
Environmentally friendly and energy-efficient features will include double-layer ventilated facades, green roofs, high energy efficiency sea-water cooled chiller plants, rainwater recycling for irrigation purpose, solar electricity panels, service-on-demand escalators, daylight sensor controls and computerised lighting controls.
The G-HH JV design also provides a landscaped "green carpet" open space for public enjoyment.
The Special Selection Board for the Tamar Development Project is chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration. Other members of the Special Selection Board are Mrs Rita Fan, Ms Miriam Lau, Professor David Lung, Mr Alan Lai and Mrs Rita Lau.
Ends/Thursday, January 10, 2008
