1 Fast-track call for big projects to boost jobs
Timothy Chui, The Standard 17 November 2008

More than 1,000 construction workers and protesters marched to the SAR government headquarters yesterday to call for relief amid the global economic turmoil.
The workers demanded that 10 major infrastructure projects be pushed forward to stem soaring unemployment.

"Hong Kong's construction industry is in a dire state with many idle workers. The situation will get much worse," Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Pan Pey Chyou said.

With upwards of 4,000 local workers in Macau's casino industry expected to return following the suspension and slowdown of several high-profile works, the labor legislator said roughly a quarter of the industry could be unemployed within a year if nothing were done.

Construction foreman Li Yuk-keung said many workers in Macau had already begun filtering back with little or few prospects on the horizon as many thought the projects would last another two years.

Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union chairman Choy Chun-wai said the livelihood of thousands were at risk unless the projects got legislative funding approval and were brought forward from their 2010 start date. The union is also calling for the government to boost short-term and small to medium public construction projects to provide more jobs.

President of the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers Peter Wong Yiu- sun said the industry needed to be stimulated and could not afford to wait another two years.

In response, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet- ngor said more than 12,000 jobs would be created through 66 smaller- scale projects due to be launched, or which are entering a tendering process, within the next three months.

Yesterday's protest at the government headquarters also included more than 800 protesters from a dozen social, elderly and youth groups along with pan-democratic lawmakers calling for the government to introduce a pension plan as more seniors struggle with retirement.

Speaking at the fifth-annual demonstration organized by the Joint Alliance for Universal Retirement Protection, spokesman Tony Au- Yeung Kwun-tung said the Mandatory Provident Fund did not provide enough security, having lost HK$30 billion in value since June.

Suggesting an old age allowance be set at HK$3,000 a month, the group said funding for the initiative could come from public coffers, employees and employers.

"The MPF scheme does not work for low-income earners because the returns are much lower and only lasts for five to 10 years," Confederation of Trade Unions lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said, adding there would be one retiree per four workers by 2033.

 

1 Building workers urge authorities to create jobs
Colleen Lee, SCMP 17 November 2008

Construction workers protest yesterday as part of a 100-strong march in Central calling for the creation of more jobs.  Photo: Sam Tsang  Source: SCMP

More than 100 construction workers and labour unionists yesterday protested in Central to urge the government to launch more infrastructure projects to create jobs in the sector.

The protesters marched from Chater Garden to Central Government Offices to demand authorities roll out more construction projects as soon as possible.

Choi Chun-wah, chairman of the Construction Industry Employees' General Union, said more workers were expected to lose jobs amid the financial meltdown.

He was also worried that the local job market would be unable to accommodate thousands of Hong Kong workers laid off by the recent halting of major projects in Macau.

Last week, the Las Vegas Sands Corp announced it would axe about 11,000 workers - 4,000 Hongkongers, 5,000 from the mainland and 2,000 from Macau.

Mr Choi urged the government to start at least three infrastructure projects next year and roll out more small and medium-sized projects to create more jobs.

He suggested the government approve planned projects in the community as soon as possible and not put off infrastructure work like the West Kowloon Cultural District project any further.

Mr Choi also called on the government to step up efforts to combat illegal workers, and consider building more public housing blocks and flats under the Home Ownership Scheme.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said job creation would be a government priority and pledged to develop smaller projects.

He said the government had been assured by the Macau authorities and the Sands Corp that the laid-off Hong Kong workers would receive their unpaid salaries.