Hong Kong SAR (China)

Over the last months, independent trade unions in Hong Kong have been subjected to a systematic and relentless stigmatisation and vilification campaign. Various authorities, including the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the PRC State Council, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong SAR (HK Liaison Office), and the Secretary of Security of Hong Kong SAR have publicly labelled the targeted independent unions as political organisations and not legitimate trade unions. A large volume of false investigative stories have been aired presenting legitimate trade union activities, their participation in social movements, solidarity with international organisations, including international trade unions, as anti-government activities and acts of collusion with foreign forces to threaten national security.
On 30 and 31 July 2021, Chinese state-owned Xinhua News and the People’s Daily in Beijing aired an item about the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU) in which the trade union was called a political organisation, condemned for its long-term participation in the local democratic movement, accused of “inciting” teachers and students to join the anti-extradition protests and general strikes in 2019 and called “a tumor to be removed”. The union’s insistence on education autonomy and opposition to the revision of the syllabus of liberal studies were labelled as anti-government. The HKPTU has been a target of similar media attacks throughout August 2021. Later, materials by the same media included calls on members to quit the HKPTU and on the authorities to criminally investigate the organisation.
Since August 2021, the same media aired materials on the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) and its international affiliations and contacts, including the ITUC. These affiliations were presented as evidence of collusion with foreign agents and foreign anti-China organisations. The HKCTU was accused of reception of foreign funding, specifically in the context of organisation of “anti-China” campaigns in 2019 and 2020, instigating unlawful labour strikes and supporting creation of “radical” anti-government trade unions. On 3 September 2021, the HKCTU and its leaders were attacked by Xinhua News and the People’s Daily for affiliating with the ITUC and participating in the activities of the ITUC. (Appendix One, VI). The 13 September headline stories reasserted many of these accusations and aired close-up pictures of the HKCTU leaders from internal trade union meetings and private gatherings with friends.

Lee Cheuk Yan, the Hong Kong democracy activist and long-time leader of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), found himself back in court on 1 November 2021. He and seven others were charged with organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. a vigil on 4 June 2020 to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Lee, who was already in prison for his part in other pro-democracy events, pleaded guilty, saying that mourning the 4 June events was something that had to be done, and that he had no regrets.
The trial began on 2 November. Lee Cheuk Yan, along with seven others, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for “inciting, organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. and participating” in a candlelight vigil on 4 June 2020.
This sentence will run concurrently with the 20-month prison sentence Lee Cheuk-yan is already serving.
Many gatherings are considered illegal in Hong Kong following the imposition by Beijing in June 2020 of the new National Security Law in the wake of the 2019 pro-democracy protests.

The general secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), Lee Cheuk Yan, together with seven others, was sentenced on 12 December 2021 to 14 months in prison for “inciting, organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. and participating” in a candlelight vigil on 4 June 2020.
The annual event, held to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, was organised by the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, of which Lee Cheuk Yan was the chair. The HKCTU had also been forced to disband.
The sentence will run concurrently with the 20-month prison sentence Lee Cheuk Yan was already serving for organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. and participating in a pro-democracy rally in 2019.

The Hong Kong authorities continue to use discretionary powers under the Trade Union Ordinance and the National Security Law to dismantle the trade union movement. This ordinance and the law grant wide discretionary powers to the Registrar of Trade Unions to scrutinize trade union by-laws, activities and finances, to inspect trade union accounts, and to refuse registration or to de-register a trade union.
Since May 2021, the authorities have been abusing the Trade Union Ordinance to open deregistration proceedings against independent trade unions while simultaneously demanding an excessive amount of information from trade union organisations – and this in a manner that unreasonably intrudes into trade union confidentiality.
On 23 July 2021, the Registrar of Trade Unions summoned the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists (GUHKST) to provide, before the deadline of 13 October 2021, detailed information about its activities. The authorities specifically demanded full details of the union’s participation in the public assembly on 12 January and 19 January 2020. These assemblies were calling for international pressure and sanctions over the suppression of the 2019 protests. The union was also asked to provide full information on its participation in the trade union referendum, joined by 33 unions, to collect members’ opinions on the passing of the National Security Law on 20 June 2020, specific speeches made by the union, as well as the union goals posted on its website declaring support for public justice, human rights and universal values. Simultaneously, the Registrar has opened de-registration proceedings against the GUHKST, based on the alleged suspicion that the union is being used for an “unlawful purpose or purpose inconsistent with its objects”.
On 3 September 2021 the Registrar of Trade Unions summoned the Hospital Authority Employees’ Alliance (HAEA). The authorities demanded that the union specify the funding, decision-making procedures and the role of the individual office bearers in relation to public activities carried out by HAEA, including a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike to demand occupational safety and health measures for its members in the public hospitals, HAEA public calls about the digital security of the government’s COVID-19 track app, the letter writing campaign for Winnie Yu in 2021, and HAEA’s public activities on the anniversary of the 2019 protests and 4 June commemorations in 2021.
The HAEA submitted replies that its activities were in line with the union goals and they should be protected under the Basic Law and ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights Convention No. 87. However, simultaneously, the Registrar opened de-registration proceedings against the HAEA.

The state-mounted pressure that led to the dissolution of the HKPTU, depriving its members of the free choice to join or affiliate for solidarity, assistance and representation in complaints.

Lee Cheuk Yan is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence for charges related to alleged unauthorised public assemblies in 2019. He has pleaded not guilty on two charges of organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. and inciting others to participate in the unauthorised candlelight vigil of 4 June 2020. The trial will take place on 1 November. He faces two additional prosecutions related to the protest on 1 January 2021 to demand the release of the political prisoners in mainland China. He also faces charges of obstructing a police officer and breaking the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 over the release of a balloon during a New Year’s Day protest.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) announced in September 2021 that it was preparing to disband, after 31 years of leading the democratic trade union movement in the region.
In the month’s leading up to the decision, the HKCTU and its member organisations had faced unprecedented attacks, intimidation and allegations of offences under the 2020 National Security Law. The personal safety of union leaders had also been threatened.
The pressure on and ultimate disbanding of the HKCTU formed part of the process of the dismantling of civil society in Hong Kong since the enactment of the National Security Law in July 2020.
China’s law on “Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” had been criticised by UN human rights experts for contravening international human rights treaties, notably because terminology in the law criminalises rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
On Sunday 3 October, members backed a resolution to cease operations by a vote of 57 to eight, with two abstentions, at an extraordinary general meeting held in its Kwai Chung training centre, meeting the four-fifths threshold required to officially dissolve.

The trial against the 47 activists, including Carol Ng and Winnie Yu, ex-chairs of HKCTU and the HAEA, on charges of conspiracy to subvert state power for participating in the primary election in July 2020 was postponed on 31 May, 8 July, and 23 September until 29 November at the request of the prosecutor. Carol Ng remains remanded. Winnie Yu was released on 28 July 2021 on conditional bail that imposes a curfew; weekly reporting to the police; harsh restrictions on her speech, acts and contacts with anyone with a link to a foreign government; and prohibition from taking part in any type of elections. Cyrus Lau is still under investigation. Those charged face life in prison if convicted.

Hong Kong police used the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gatherings) Regulation to ban the 2021 May Day rally, advance notice of which was given by the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU). Between May and August 2021, the HKCTU, the Hospital Authority Employees’ Alliance (HAEA), the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists (GUHKST) and other unions were harassed and members were cordoned off, required to show ID, photographed and videotaped or ticketed by police officers to disrupt all efforts at communicating trade union messages to the public by setting up street booths. Similarly trade unions organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. member-exclusive screenings of films were requested by the Office for Films, Newspapers and Articles Administration to provide details and approvals.

In March 2021, four organisers of the Hospital Authority Employees’ Alliance (HAEA) delivering public speeches on precautions about vaccinations and privacy protection of the government’s COVID-19 digital tracker were cordoned off by police officers. They were asked to provide their ID, close-up pictures were taken and there was videotaping.
Furthermore, the police continued to use the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gatherings) Regulation (Cap. 599G) to ban the 2021 May Day rally, advance notice of which was given by the HKCTU. Between May and August 2021, HKCTU, the HAEA, the GUHKST and other unions had been harassed and their members were cordoned off while also being photographed and videotaped or ticketed by police officers to disrupt them from communicating trade union messages to the public by setting up street booths; this action against the unions occurred under the prolonged ban on public gatherings under Cap 599G. The members’ IDs were also checked and information therefrom noted down.
HAEA organised member-exclusive screenings of films were requested by the Office for Films, Newspapers and Articles Administration to provide details and approvals.

On 25 August 2021, Lee Cheuk Yan, general secretary of the HKCTU and the chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (Hong Kong Alliance) – currently in jail – was served notice by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police to submit information under Article 43 of the National Security Law and Schedule 5 of the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the law. These provisions regulate submission of information for investigation of national security crimes. The current inquiry relates to the activities of the Hong Kong Alliance. The police demanded that Lee Cheuk Yan provide full information on all the alliance’s activities, finances, foreign sources of funding, relations with organisations outside Hong Kong, and personal details of all members since the group’s founding in 1989 – all this with a deadline of 7 September 2021. The penalty for not providing complete information or providing false information includes a fine of HK$100,000 and a jail term of anywhere from six months to two years. The Hong Kong Alliance, as well as its executive committee members – including Lee Cheuk Yan, Albert Ho, Chow Hang Tung and the other four members – have already been designated under schedule 5 as foreign agents by the police.
On the day of the deadline, Lee Cheuk Yan and the other executive committee members issued statements refusing to comply with the information demands of the police. They challenged the determination of the Hong Kong Alliance as a foreign agent based on “reasonable belief” only and in the absence of any substantiation of allegations of dependence on any foreign organisation.
In reaction, on 8 September 2021, Lee Cheuk Yan and the Hong Kong Alliance, as a legal person, were prosecuted for inciting subversion under Articles 22 and 23 of the National Security Law, namely “to organize, plan, commit or participate in subverting state power, that is overthrowing or undermining the basic system of the People’s Republic of China established by the PRC constitution, or overthrowing the body of central power of the PRC”, for having organised the candlelight vigil on 4 June, mourning those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
On 9 September, the police proceeded to freeze the alliance’s assets and bank account and shut down the 4 June Memorial Museum. The organisation’s website has been removed at the request of the police under section 7(2) of schedule 4 of the Implementation Rules.
The HKCTU has been a member organisation of the Hong Kong Alliance since its creation in 1989. Trade unions collaborated in the alliance’s activities, including the annual candlelight vigil on 4 June. Not only do these new national security charges further impede Lee Cheuk Yan’s performing his trade union activities, but they also add to the climate of fear, persecution and elimination of democratic space in Hong Kong, seriously obstructing workers in the exercise of their freedom-of-association rights.

On 31 July 2021, the Education Bureau (EDB) of Hong Kong announced it would cease working with the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU), the city’s largest teachers’ union, with around 95,000 members and representing 90 per cent of the city’s educators. The EDB accused the teachers’ union of “spreading political propaganda” and being unprofessional. The move came within hours of Chinese state media attacks depicting the union as a “poisonous tumour” that must be "eradicated”.
The EDB also cited the union’s involvement with other pro-democracy coalitions, namely the Civil Human Rights Front and the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, both of which had come under pressure from the authorities.
The measure meant that the city government would no longer meet or consult with the educators’ representative body. Members of the union were stripped of their positions on government advisory bodies, and HKPTU’s teacher training courses were no longer recognised.
This attack against the education union came as the city introduced mandatory national security education in its schools in response to months of pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019. In parallel, the civil service bureau established a “national security hotline” and is said to have received over 10,000 anonymous reports of suspected violations of the National Security Law.
Four teachers were de-registered by the Education Bureau on anonymous allegations about the teachers’ discussions in liberal studies classes and expressions of their political opinions in private. The teachers were obligated to censor the students’ speeches and behaviour under the Education Bureau’s new guidelines to integrate national security into the curriculum after February 2021.
Union leaders accused the authorities of imposing “white terror” on the profession since the onset of the Beijing-imposed national security law in June 2020.
On 10 August 2021, the HKPTU announced that it was to disband. “We have felt enormous pressure,” HKPTU President Fung Wai-wah told reporters. Fung added that the union had tried hard to find ways to continue its operations, but did not find anything that “could solve the crisis.”

Five members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists (GUHKST) were arrested on 22 July. Their phones, computers and trade union leaflets were taken away by the police. The two men and three women included the union chair and vice chair, Li Wenling and Yang Yiyi. According to the police, they had “conspired to publish, distribute, exhibit or copy seditious publications”. Both were prosecuted, remanded and denied bail on the next day with charges of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or copy seditious publications. The other three leaders were granted bail.
The “seditious” publications were three illustrated e-books for children with speech problems published by the union in 2020. They explain Hong Kong’s democracy movement. Democracy supporters are portrayed as sheep living in a village surrounded by wolves. The first book explains the 2019 pro-democracy protests, the second is a story of cleaners in the village who go on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike (but the introduction explains it is about the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike by Hong Kong medical workers), and the third tells the tale of a group of sheep who flee their village, in a reference to the Hongkongers who tried to escape to Taiwan.
The police claimed the picture books incited hatred against the government and the judiciary, promoting violence and non-compliance with the law. The bank account and assets of the union were frozen under the National Security Law. In the hearing on 30 August, the judge remanded all five union officers in custody pending their next hearing on 24 October 2021.
The sedition law is a colonial-era law that until 2020 had not been used since Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China. It carries up to two years in jail for a first offence. Since the democracy protests, police and prosecutors began regularly using it alongside the National Security Law to clamp down on political speech and views.
Due to the constant pressure, the GUHKST announced in August 2021 it was to disband. It was already under threat of deregistration.

The anti-union campaign by the authorities, including the application of the National Security Law, interference in trade union activities, harassment of trade unionists and restrictions on public access to information, has led to a condition of judicial and investigative harassment and a climate of fear and intimation compelling trade unions to dissolve their structures. Trade unions are not able to freely organise their activities, and they fear for the security and safety of their members. As a result, the following trade union organisations, including the HKCTU, have triggered internal dissolution procedures:
In January 2021, the Union of New Civil Servants (UNCS) took the decision to dissolve, following the Civil Service Bureau’s introduction of the new oath of loyalty required of all regular and contractual civil servants based on the content of the National Security Law. UNCS considered that the oath would leave no space for the union and its members to freely express opinions, make speeches or conduct freely its activities. The government demanded that 180,000 regular civil servants take an oath and sign a declaration of loyalty to the chief executive and the government in December 2020 to reflect the content of the National Security Law in their work and private conduct. The declaration and the annexes mirror the legal offences in the law to restrict civil servants’ speeches, conduct, and behaviour at work and in private. The determination of what constitutes a breach of the oath is up to the interpretation of the chief secretary. Leaders of the Union for New Civil Servants protested the oath requirement and disbanded the union in January 2021 before the deadline for returning the declarations. By April,129 civil servants refusing to sign the declarations had been suspended or terminated.
On 30 June 2021, Medicine Inspires, a professional organisation of medical professionals and doctors formed in 2015 to advocate policies, human rights and represent the medical profession in functional constituency elections, took the decision to dissolve the organisation. It has opposed the excessive use of tear gas for causing serious injury to protesters and also has opposed the intrusion of the police in hospital wards during the 2019 protests.
Other disbanded unions as of July this year include the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Union, Hong Kong Educators’ Alliance, Frontline Doctors’ Union, Hong Kong Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Union, Financial Technology Professional Services Personnel Union, Hong Kong Teaching and Research Support Staff Union, and Next Media Trade Union (NMTU).
In a similar way, the authorities have forced other civil society organisations that have a long history of cooperation with independent trade unions to cease activities in Hong Kong or to dissolve.

At the end of May 2021 Lee Cheuk Yan, general secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), was sentenced to a further 18 months in prison for “inciting, organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. and participating in an unauthorised assembly” on 1 October 2019. Hong Kong’s widely supported pro-democracy protests were deemed illegal by Beijing under the new National Security Law passed in June 2020.
Lee’s sentence was in addition to the 18-month sentence he received in April 2021 for another pro-democracy event in August 2019.
Lee Cheuk Yan was to serve the two sentences concurrently. Taking into account time already served, he was due to be imprisoned for 20 months in total.
Another nine democracy defenders were gives sentences of between 14 to 18 months.
Lee Cheuk Yan still faced another three charges for pro-democracy events in June 2020. His trial was set for 11 June.

On 28 May 2021, Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong Beverages Employees’ General Union launched strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action in response to severe wage cuts. Management had ignored the union and the collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
process entirely to cut wages and to change its pay structure. The Swire Coca-Cola Beverages Employees General Union (SCBEGU) was among the very few private sector unions that has exercised collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
rights for over decades. Now they were seeing that right blatantly undermined.

Lee Cheuk Yan, general secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), was sentenced by a Hong Kong court on 16 April 2021 to 18 months in prison for organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. and participating in pro-democracy events in August 2019. Four other democracy defenders also received prison sentences, and five more were handed suspended sentences.
Lee and six other activists were found guilty on 1 April 2021 of unauthorised assembly for their part in the 2019 protests, deemed illegal under the new National Security Law. The law, imposed by Beijing in June 2020, had been used to systematically target, intimidate and undermine democratic civil society organisations, notably trade unions. Lee was a particular target, given his very high-profile role in defending fundamental workers’ rights and democratic rights.
Lee’s conviction was in contravention of both national and international law. Article 39 of the Hong Kong Basic Law protects the right to freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework , peaceful assembly and political participation, as it incorporates International Labour Organization International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights (ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights ) Convention 87, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

By late February 2020, more than hundred activists had been arrested under the National Security Law (NSL), including three unionists. Carol Ng, chair of HKCTU, and Winnie Yu of HAEA were charged and have been in detention since 28 February 2021. On 2 February 2021, the Hong Kong police said that 97 people were arrested under the NSL, eight under prosecution. Among those arrested, some suspects, under separate legislation, face charges such as money laundering, fraud and publishing seditious words under separate legislation. The police have arrested 10,200 people – 40 per cent of them students – in relation to the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests. Almost 2,450 had been prosecuted, with judicial proceedings completed in more than 940 of these cases.

Tony Chung, a former leader of student activist group “Studentlocalism”, has been charged with secession, money laundering and conspiracy to publish seditious material under Hong Kong’s national security law.
Chung, who is 19 years old, was detained opposite Hong Kong’s United States consulate, where he was reportedly attempting to seek asylum on 27 October 2020. The teenager was denied bail after his court appearance on 29 October, with a second appearance set for 7 January. If found guilty, the student faces life imprisonment.
Studentlocalism, a pro-independence student activist group that has now disbanded its Hong Kong division, was accused of publishing social media posts that supported the separation of Hong Kong from China. Fellow former members William Chan and Yanni Ho were also arrested separately on the same day. Chan and Ho, alongside Chung, were previously arrested for inciting secession in July, days after the introduction of the national security law.

Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip announced that the authorities will issue a notice to each department on 18 October 2020 to require all civil servants who joined the government on or after 1 July to sign a statement or take an oath to confirm they will uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The new requirement came after dozens of civil servants were arrested in connection with last year’s anti-extradition bill protests. Last month, Nip revealed that 46 government staffers have been suspended for allegedly taking part in “illegal activities”.
Subversion is now criminalised in Hong Kong under the Beijing-imposed national security law, which also bans secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which are broadly defined to include disruption to public transport and other infrastructure.

In early October 2020, a primary school teacher in Hong Kong was dismissed for allegedly asking pupils questions about freedom of speech and independence from China. In statement, the Education Bureau claimed the unnamed teacher had violated the territory’s de facto constitution, the Basic Law, by disseminating a message about independence. The teacher’s registration has also been removed by the bureau.
The teacher was reportedly sacked for showing students a video featuring a pro-independence activist and then asking the class “what is freedom of speech?” and “according to the video, what is the reason for advocating Hong Kong independence?”
In a Facebook post, the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union called the decision to remove the teacher from their post as “totally unacceptable” and said the written warning sent to the school where the teacher taught constituted a “despicable act” of intimidation. The union added that it would help the teacher with their appeal.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, characterised the incident as a “very serious matter” if teachers took aim at China and the Hong Kong government.
The Education Bureau has warned teachers that it would be looking out for other “black sheep”, adding that it had received 247 allegations of professional misconduct aimed at teachers between July 2019 and August 2020.

Under a new policy, Hong Kong’s police will cease to recognise press accreditation issued by local media or journalist associations unless they are also registered with the Hong Kong’s Information Services Department. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said the move aggressively undermines media freedom and independence in Hong Kong and demands it be revoked immediately.
In a letter sent to media organisations on 22 September 2020, the chief superintendent of the public relations branch of the Hong Kong Police, Kenneth Kwok, outlined amendments to the definition of “media representatives”. The new policy takes effect from 23 September 2020. Police justify the restrictions as a means to control activities and “fake reporters”. On 22 September, the HKJA joined eight Hong Kong media unions in demanding the policy be scrapped.

A leading Hong Kong university has fired its law professor, Benny Tai, due to a criminal conviction over his role in the 2014 pro-democracy protests. Mr Tai, 56, accused the University of Hong Kong (HKU) of bowing to pressure from Beijing and said the ruling was “the end of academic freedom”.
Mr Tai was one of the founders of the “umbrella protests” that paralysed Hong Kong’s business districts for weeks. Last year, a court sentenced him to 16 months in prison for his role. He was granted bail in August, pending an appeal.
The 2014 protests, which were largely peaceful, lasted for more than 70 days as people took to the streets to call for democracy. The university governing council’s decision to dismiss Mr Tai goes against a previous ruling by its senate, which said while Mr Tai had committed misconduct, there were insufficient grounds to dismiss him. The university’s ruling comes weeks after a controversial security law was passed in the city, giving China more powers there.
The law criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces, but critics say that the terms are vaguely defined and the law effectively curtails Hong Kong’s freedoms.

On 15 July 2020, Cathay Pacific informed the HK Aircrew Officers’ Association (AOA) to terminate the trade union recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. agreement and collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
tradition (CX letter to AOA). On 22 October, Cathay announced the closure of Cathay Dragon (the Hong Kong specific airline branch) and the resulting retrenchment and dismissal of 7,346 cabin crew and 2,613 pilots under the group. Staff were forced to enter into cheaper employment contracts, with their salaries being slashed by 40-60%. Cathay unilaterally ceased the collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
tradition with the AOA and the Flight Attendants’ Union, calling collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
a “1970 old-fashioned practice’’. The Hong Kong government has been refusing to legislate on collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
and has provided no safeguard against job slashes and termination of collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
by Cathay, which benefited from the government’s HK$3.60 million bailout given in June.

On 30 June 2020, China’s top legislature unanimously passed a new national security law for Hong Kong that entered into force in the territory the same day, just before midnight. The Chinese authorities forced the law through without any accountability or transparency: it was passed just weeks after it was first announced, bypassing Hong Kong’s local legislature, and the text was kept secret from the public and allegedly even the Hong Kong government until after it was enacted.
China has routinely labelled legitimate protests as “terrorism”. This latest move obliterates fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework .
The law is dangerously vague and broad: virtually anything could be deemed a threat to “national security" under its provisions. Under this new law, “secession”, “subversion”, “terrorism” and “collusion with foreign forces” incur maximum penalties of life imprisonment. But these offences are so broadly defined they can easily become catch-all offences used in politically motivated prosecutions with potentially heavy penalties.
Under the national security law, the authorities have at their disposal a broad range of powers with absolutely no checks and balances to ensure the rule of law, respect for fundamental rights and due process. Suspects can be removed to mainland China, handled within the mainland’s criminal justice system and tried under mainland law. Investigating authorities can search properties, restrict or prohibit travel, freeze or confiscate assets, censor online content and engage in covert surveillance, including intercepting communications, all without a court order. The Hong Kong Police Force has already established a new national security division to conduct covert surveillance. The authorities can also require information from organisations and individuals, even if the information in question may be self-incriminating. Anyone failing to comply can be fined or imprisoned.
The Chinese government now has a national security arm in Hong Kong. The Chinese central government is setting up an Office for Safeguarding National Security in the heart of Hong Kong. The office and its staff do not fall under Hong Kong’s jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government has set up another new body, the Committee for Safeguarding National Security, with a delegate from the Chinese central government to “advise” it. The committee has the power to hand-pick personnel in law enforcement and prosecution to handle national security cases. Budget and appointment of personnel related to safeguarding national security will also bypass legislative scrutiny. The Chief Executive can appoint judges to handle national security cases in a way that appears to undermine judicial independence. Under the new law, the committee does not have to disclose its work. Decisions made by the committee are not subject to review by the courts.
Although the national security law includes a general guarantee to respect human rights, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, other provisions in the law could override these protections. The law grants immunities and vast exemptions to the national security institutions and their personnel and, in fact, states explicitly that it trumps any Hong Kong laws in case of conflict.
The United Nations human rights office and expert bodies have already repeatedly expressed concerns about the national security law, stating the broadly worded legislation can lead to “discriminatory or arbitrary interpretation and enforcement which could undermine human rights protection”.
This draconian law is so vague it prevents anyone from knowing how and when they might transgress it and has consequently had an instant chilling effect across the territory. Immediately after the law’s passage, authorities started to use it to crack down on legitimate and peaceful assemblies.

On 20 June 2020, the Union of New Civil Servants joined 23 other trade unions to organise a referendum to collect opinions from members about the legislation of the national security law (NSL), the freeze on civil service pay, and the new requirement on oath of allegiance for civil servants, and to decide on what further actions to take, including industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. . Already on 12 June, the government issued a statement condemning “the union for planning to use radical means by staging a political strike political strike A process halfway between conciliation and arbitration , in mediation a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a settlement to an industrial dispute by suggesting possible, non-binding solutions.

See arbitration, conciliation ” in a bid to intimidate civil servants and prevent them from joining the Union of New Civil Servants and participating in the referendum.

Lee Cheuk Yan, general secretary of the independent Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), was arrested on 28 February 2020 and charged with “unlawful assembly” before being released on bail pending his court hearing. Lee was arrested at the same time as pro-democracy politician Yeung Sum and publisher Jimmy Lai in what the HKCTU denounced as “a well-coordinated operation carried out by the Hong Kong police” and “a plot to further suppress Hong Kong citizens and workers’ rights to freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework ”.
On 15 June 2020, Lee Cheuk Yan and fourteen other pro-democracy leaders and activists appeared in court, charged with participating in and organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. illegal assemblies in 2019 demanding universal suffrage and the withdrawal of the extradition bill and universal suffrage. The charges stem from their participation in the mass demonstration organised on 31 August 2019 to mark the 5^th anniversary of the Chinese authorities’ decision to deny the people of Hong Kong their right to universal suffrage. Police that day violently and indiscriminately attacked and beat demonstrators and citizens.
The charges against Lee Cheuk Yan and others – arrested in February for a demonstration the previous August – testify to the authorities’ determination to stamp out the democracy movement. In total, some 7,000 people have been arrested, and 80% of the cases are still “under investigation”.

On 10 March 2020, eight protesters taking part in a May Day demonstration were convicted of violating the ban on public gatherings of more than four people under the public health emergency regulation, Cap 599G. The eight protesters were stopped by the police from proceeding from Admiralty metro station to Government House on 1 May 2020, even though they were in two groups of four persons and keeping 1.5 metres apart in accordance with the social distancing rule. The protesters were ticketed for breaking Cap 599G and taken to the court on 10 March after they refused to pay the fine. The court ruled that it was a planned action by the eight defendants and they had gathered for a common purpose; the court then dismissed the accusation that a public gathering for a common purpose under the public order ordinance was used to decide that there had been a breach, rather than the number of the people gathering under Cap 599G. The defendants were sentenced to 14 days of imprisonment on an 18-month suspended sentence.

On 28 Feb 2021, the HAEA and Student Localism setting up a street booth in Mongkok to ask the public to boycott boycott A collective refusal to buy or use the goods or services of an employer to express disapproval with its practices. Primary boycotts are used to put direct pressure on an employer, while a secondary boycott involves the refusal to deal with a neutral employer with the view of dissuading it from patronising the target employer. the government-sponsored COVID-19 tracking app were harassed by the police and their activity was disrupted. The activists were using microphones to explain the threats of privacy breaches to the tracking app and delivering pamphlets to the public while observing the COVID-19 public health precautions and the restriction on gatherings of more than four persons. In less than half an hour, more than 30 police appeared to question and take down the ID number of the two organisers (as seen at HAEA live at 10:18 a.m. on 28 February). The HAEA activist who video recorded the harassment was blocked by several policemen from approaching the organisers. The police officers took down the ID number of the activist and all the helpers of the union activity. More policemen arrived to stand in front of the union booth and take pictures and video of the union activity. Later, the activity was disrupted again by more than 50 police, who cordoned off the union booth and again surrounded the union organisers with threats of fining them for violating the COVID-19 gathering ban under Cap599G. The cordon was pushed to block the activists, and the police officers were shouting at the dismayed bystanders, warning that they were violating the gathering ban and the National Security Law. Police officers videotaped the bystanders, who were frustrated with the police harassment. A policeman suddenly stepped out of the cordon line toward one of the bystanders, who was subdued by five policemen and arrested. The HAEA ended the union activity and went to the police station to support the arrested bystanders.

The trade unions played an active role in the mass protests against Hong Kong’s Mutual Legal Assistance against Law on Offenders and Criminal Matters (Amendment) Bill 2019, known as the extradition bill. The movement began in June 2019 as a series of demonstrations and rallies to oppose the bill, which would allow the Chinese courts and authorities to extradite anybody from or in Hong Kong, including political critics and opponents, to be tried according to mainland jurisdiction. The rallies attended by people in the millions on 9 and 16 June demanded the permanent withdrawal of the extradition bill, the unconditional release of arrested protestors, the withdrawal by the government of their characterisation of the 12 June mass protests as a “riot”, an independent investigation into police violence and abuse of power, and full universal suffrage.

There was brutal crackdown of the anti-extradition protests as they were broadened to an ongoing movement for democratic reforms and protection of fundamental civil rights and freedoms against escalating police violence after the bill was withdrawn on 4 September. At least 6,943 protesters have been arrested for taking part in unlawful assemblies and rioting. Eighty per cent of these cases are still under investigation to intimidate the arrestees from joining the protests. Unproportionate violence has been used by the police against the protesters including 19 live rounds, 15,972 rounds of tear gas and tens of thousands of rubber bullets, sponge bullets and bean bag rounds in blatant violation of the Police Ordinance and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (AIHK annual report). Protesters were reportedly tortured, sexually abused and their access to lawyers was obstructed during detention. Accountability of the police officers and remedies to redress the curb on fundamental freedoms do not exist under the government-appointed Complaint Against Police Office.

Between June and December 2019, the Hong Kong police used the Public Order Ordinance to object to 47 out of 537 applications for public procession or meetings, in violation of the principle of freedom of peaceful assembly under ICCPR. On 23 August, the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA) obtained an injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. order to ban protests at the airport indefinitely. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) was barred, due to the objection by HKAA and the company, from staging a rally outside Cathay Pacific’s headquarter office at the airport on 26 August to protest the dismissals of employees associated with the anti-extradition protests. The union had to stage the protest far away from the workplace in Central district on 28 August.

HKCTU actively supported the call for general strikes on 5 August 2019 attended by 3,500 workers and on 3 September to demand the full withdrawal of the extradition bill. Many more took part in the strikes and spontaneous rallies by taking leave, since the Trade Union Ordinance and Employment Ordinance authorises only economic strikes that take place outside the working hours or within the working hours with the consent of the employers. Mandatory reinstatement of unlawfully dismissed workers is effectively compromised by a substitute cash penalty capped at US$9,300 under the Employment (Amendment) (No.2) Ordinance passed in 2018.

On 21 August, the Cathay Dragon airline dismissed the chairperson of the Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Flight Attendants Association, Ms Rebecca Sy. No official reason was given for her dismissal, but it came immediately after she was asked to confirm that a screen shot of a social media post expressing support for the pro-democracy movement was hers.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), to which the Flight Attendants Association is affiliated, believed the airline industry unions were a target for reprisals because they had been the most active in the pro-democracy strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike on 5 August. Rebecca Sy herself was a very active union member and was credited with pushing through changes that ended Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon’s “skirts only” rule for women, giving female flight attendants the option of wearing trousers. The airline declined to give a reason for Ms Sy’s dismissal, but claimed it was not related to her union activities.

After the 5 August general strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) put pressure on Cathay Pacific over its staff’s involvement in the pro-democracy movement and issued a broadly scoped directive to Cathay Pacific to prohibit the staff of Cathay Pacific taking part in “unlawful assemblies” and “radical actions” in the anti-extradition bill protests from flying over mainland Chinese air space.

The company bowed to that pressure and warned of terminations for supporting or joining the protests. The number of staff dismissed because of their support for the movement soon reached double figures and included four pilots and two ground staff.

The CAAC ban has had a ripple effect to limit the right to freedom of assembly and expression of employees in the aviation sector. By the end of November 2019, 37 employees of Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, Hong Kong Airlines and the Hong Kong Airport Authority had been fired for association with the protests.

A group of civil servants was planning to organise a public assembly on 2 August 2019 to express their concerns on the amendment of the extradition bill. In response to it, the HKSAR government issued a statement a day before threatening “serious consequences” if the civil servants joined the assembly, which was political in nature in breach of the Civil Service Code regarding political neutrality and total loyalty of the civil servants in serving the chief executive.

Tom Lee Music has been refusing to negotiate a collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
agreement with the affiliate of HKCTU since the union was established in 2014 to fight against contractualisation. Since 2018, the management has ceased to open new music classes or allocate new students to the classes taught by the executives of the trade union. The union executives have raised the discriminatory arrangement, which greatly affected their income, with the management without receiving an answer.

In September 2018, British Airways announced closure of its local base in Hong Kong and redundancies of all the 85 local cabin crew in a month’s time without prior notice and negotiation of severance with the union.

The Hong Kong Buildings Management and Security Workers General Union was unable to freely organise its activities on the premises of Lingnan University. In August the university book store was pressured and refused to lend its venue to the union, which was preparing to organise a talk to the staff and employees jointly with the student group concerning labour issues at the campus. The school authority called the student group an illegal organisation and re-scheduled the staff training to dissuade them from joining the talk.

In addition, the school authority of City University City infringed the freedom of expression of the City University Staff Association by removing posters bearing the Chinese characters for “Hong Kong independence” on the union board, also known as the democracy wall. The university requested that the union remove all material and, after no action was taken, university management used red paper to cover the wall, prompting the student union to issue its ultimatum. The fight over control of a bulletin board at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) escalated after a large piece of red paper that management used to cover pro-independence messages was reportedly torn down by a student. Meanwhile, at the University of Hong Kong, posters and banners backing the Hong Kong National Party on its democracy wall were found to have been removed.

For many years, the Hospital Authority Employees General Union, affiliated to HKCTU, has been demanding recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. and regular meetings with the management of the Hospital Authority without success. On 2 September the union staged a protest to demand a meeting with the management to resolve the 43 complaints of harassments it had received from members and staff in the past year. The management ignored the demand of the union for recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. .
Similarly, in 2018 companies such as Hong Kong Express, Hong Airlines and Vitasoy also continued to refuse recognising the affiliated unions of HKCTU for negotiations and collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
.

Hong Kong’s largest bus company KMB suspended four drivers for organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike .
On Saturday 24 February 2018, Yip Wai-lam, leader of the newly formed Full-time KMB Driver Alliance, led a protest against the new pay restructuring exercise by using buses to block the entrance to the depot. The new pay deal had been agreed with the main drivers’ union, the Motor Transport Workers General Union’s (MTWGU) KMB branch, affiliated with the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions. It reduced drivers’ working hours and included a small pay rise. The MTWGU was one of five unions at the company.
The protest was called off when management agreed to meet Alliance representatives on Monday 26 February. It agreed to the Alliance’s main demands, including scrapping the annual performance appraisal and consulting the drivers over policies that affected them.
At first the KMB said no disciplinary measures would be taken against those involved in the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike but on Tuesday 27 February KMB announced that Yip Wai-lam, her husband and two other drivers involved in the dispute would be dismissed.
That announcement led to an immediate display of solidarity. About 50 members of the public and a number of pro-democratic political parties went to KMB’s depot on the Tuesday evening to show their support for Yip Wai-lam. They included at least six KMB drivers and two representatives from the Staff Rights Association of KMB and the KMB Staff Union. The KMB quickly revised its decision to dismiss the four, and instead suspended them on full pay while considering what further action would be taken.
Five weeks later, on 13 April it was announced that all four were to be reinstated, but KMB warned that they would face serious punishment if they violated company rules again.

Kowloon Motor Bus sacked the whistle-blower Yip Wai Lam and her husband on 6 March 2018 after leading a wildcat strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike the previous week. The KMB management accused her of violating the company code and discipline.

In February 2018 the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) organised a rally to the Korean Consulate in Hong Kong to demand the release of Han Sang-gyun, ex-president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and Lee Young-joo, ex-general secretary of KCTU. However, the policemen blocked the venue and protesters failed to go near the consulate office. The co-ordinator of the action received a warning for the violation of the Public Order Ordinance.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) continues to denounce the long-standing violations of ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights Convention No. 98, which provides for the adoption of a legislative framework for protection against anti-union discrimination anti-union discrimination Any practice that disadvantages a worker or a group of workers on grounds of their past, current or prospective trade union membership, their legitimate trade union activities, or their use of trade union services. Can constitute dismissal, transfer, demotion, harassment and the like.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework

and for collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
, and ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights Convention No. 144, which ensures effective tripartite consultations with the most representative organisations of workers.

There is no law in Hong Kong to mandate bargaining or consultation with the trade unions on employment relations and conditions. Consequently, less than one per cent of the employees in Hong Kong are protected by a collective agreement and employers usually refuse to engage in collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
with unions. For example, New World First Bus Company has rejected all talks on increasing the basic salary and shortening working hours, while Citybus Ltd has refused to negotiate trade union leaves, as proposed by the unions. The Hospital Authority has refused to negotiate with the trade union over the grievance procedure. British Airlines in Hong Kong has also refused to open a dialogue with unions. In some cases, trade unions have asked for formal recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. but they remained unsuccessful, as was the case for Vitasoy employees union, which still awaits recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. by the employer. Instead, the CEO of the company has arranged a regular exchange meeting with the employees quarterly.

Some unions are not able to open a bank account for their daily operation. For example, the Progressive Labour Union of Domestic Workers in Hong Kong, which is composed of the foreign domestic workers, has been trying to open a bank account and has applied to nearly all banks in Hong Kong, but its applications were rejected every time on various dubious grounds. Some banks pretended that they only accepted nationals as clients, while others claimed that they did not accept associations or organisations as clients.

In January 2018 the president of the Hong Kong Baptist University Employees’ Union was terminated – his employment contract was not renewed.

In December 2017 cleaners in Hoi Lai Estate went on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike saying that they were denied severance payments when their company’s contract with the public housing estate ended in October. They were then re-employed by a new cleaning contractor, which declined to honour long service payments for their tenures with the old company. The total amount of the claim reached HKD 1 million. At first, the new contractor refused to negotiate with the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) and hired some cleaners to replace striking workers. After a ten-day strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , the contractor finally agreed to most of the union’s demands, including the payment of HKD 1,200 in severance pay for each worker and for each year of employment, that is 80 per cent of the full amount.

In its concluding observations of 3 February 2016, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) expressed its concern at consistent reports of massive detentions of persons in the context of demonstrations and the alleged restriction to the detainees’ legal safeguards. The Committee also noted that, on 18 August 2017, a court decision was handed down against three persons in relation to the mass demonstration in 2014 for inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly, or for taking part in an unlawful assembly under section 18 of the Public Order Ordinance. During the first instance, three defendants respectively received 80 hours’ community service, 120 hours’ community service and three weeks’ imprisonment with probation for one year. Upon the application of the Public Prosecutors for the review of the case, the Court of Appeal considered that the sentences of the first instance were inadequate and could not possibly reflect the gravity of the offences. It therefore sentenced the three defendants to six to eight months’ imprisonment respectively.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) deplores the fact that despite being the second largest national trade union centre trade union centre A central organisation at the national, regional or district level consisting of affiliated trade unions. Often denotes a national federation or confederation. , it is still deprived of the right to nominate representatives to the Labour Advisory Board, the official tripartite consultation body, the Minimum Wage Commission and the Standard Working Hours Committee. Instead, the authorities favour pro-government unions by unfair and opaque election methods. In March 2017 Mr. Chan Hung Chi, a former high-ranking officer at the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong, was appointed deputy general secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), which raised serious doubts among independent trade unions.

On 9 March 2017 LSG Sky Chefs fired Ng Chi-Fai, a chef and the chairperson of the Hong Kong Chefs’ Union.

Ng Chi-Fai joined the company in 2015, and in the same year established the union. Under his leadership the union called for legislation to regulate working hours, and protested against food and beverage corporations Maxims and Cafe de Coral.

Ng Chi-fai was twice reassigned in response to his activism. In April 2016 together with other chefs, he pressed for the payment of arrears for overtime work. They succeeded, but in retaliation the company moved Ng from his former workplace in Tseung Kwan-O, where he lives, to the Kwai Chung port area much further away. He was put on rubbish disposal duties, which was not part of his contracted tasks as a chef. In November 2016 he was reassigned again after participating in the march against Beijing’s interpretation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law, and sent to work at the headquarters of the state-owned Bank of China.

Ng said the grounds given for his dismissal on 9 March were a “poor attitude”, even though he had a good work record. Four days before his dismissal, on Sunday 5 March, Ng had attended a public forum on the Hong Kong’s Chief Executive’s election and asked one of the candidates, Carrie Lam Yuet-ngor, about her position on standard working hours. There is no legally specified standard working week in Hong Kong and this has long been a campaign issue for the trade unions. After the forum he was called to meet LSG Hong Kong’s General Manager Sam Yau, who told Ng he was fired.

Even when employers do negotiate, they do not necessarily sign the agreement that emerges from that. The Bar Bending Contractors Association refused to sign any written agreements with the Bar Bending Industry Workers Solidarity Union for a wage increase. Even if they had signed, collective agreements are not binding.

The New World First Bus Company and Citybus Limited both refused to give their workers’ unions information about their financial situation during the annual pay negotiations.

When the newly formed union at Tom Lee Music requested a meeting with management in December 2015, the company refused to talk to it, and said it would communicate with the workers directly. As there is no legal obligation on employers to negotiate with unions, by-passing unions and going straight to the workers is a common occurrence, according to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU).

Two trade unionists, Mr. Ho King Keung and Li Siu Man, were dismissed in December 2015 because they led a workers’ petition to fight for pay increases. They were also protesting against their employer’s attempts to circumvent labour legislation and the protection it provides for workers.

In December 2015, the organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), Mr. Yu Chi Hang, who had led a demonstration to demand improvements in workers’ rights, was arrested by the police.

The names of HKCTU officials Lee Cheuk-yan (General Secretary) and Mung Siu-tat (Executive Director) were included on a list of persons who are to be summoned to police stations where they will be arrested. Commissioner of Police Andy Tsang announced that the police would arrest the “key organisers” of the Umbrella Movement within three months. Several other members of the HKCTU were arrested during the
clearance of the peaceful assembly in the Admiralty area of Hong Kong.

Police interfered violently in protests demanding free elections of the Hong Kong Chief Executive. Workers, students and ordinary citizens assembled outside government buildings from 26 September 2014 onwards. On 28 September, the Hong Kong government deployed anti-riot police and fired tear gas at tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators. Even though, many people were injured protests continued blocking main roads in Hong Kong.

In May 2015 the Cathay Pacific airline reduced its employees’ hourly rate of pay and removed legal assistance protection, without consulting the unions. Legally the company is under no obligation to do so, as the law does not recognise the right to collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. As a result less than 1 per cent of employees in Hong Kong are protected by collective agreements and most employers simply ignore unions, do not consult them, and do not provide information when requested. The flight attendants’ union, which represents over 70 per cent of employees, threatened to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . Management backed down.

Workers who threaten to go on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike often face intimidation. In March 2015, for example, a group of coach drivers was planning to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike for better pay. The employer of the coach company dismissed all workers before the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , and hired replacement labour. This is a fairly common practice, according to the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU).

Since there is no law protecting the right to collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
, unions are often not recognised for collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
purposes. Employers bypass unions and bargain directly with individual employees and refuse to provide financial information about the company when they do engage in collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. For example, the request of union representatives at companies such as New World Bus Corporation and Coca Cola for financial reports has been declined every year. Companies argue that this information is confidential and withhold information that is vital for the bargaining process. Union representatives at the beverage company Vitasoy have been asking management for a meeting for years now without any response.

Workers regularly face discrimination for union membership. For example, an active union member in the Coach Drivers Union has been dismissed by his employer. Two driving instructors of the Hong Kong School of Motoring were dismissed in January 2013 when they were about to form a union. They protested outside the company and were eventually reinstated.

The Labour Department, which is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the violation of trade union rights, has only prosecuted four cases from 1997 to 2014. It argues that there has never been sufficient evidence to prosecute in other cases.

The Union of Hong Kong Dockers (UHKD), which represents 1,500 dock workers in the Hong Kong Container Terminal, is not recognised by the owner of the terminals and the contractors for bargaining purposes.

A. S. Watson & Company Limited Hong Kong is increasingly turning employees into self-employed contractors to avoid legal obligations with regard to the payment of benefits. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions stated that this has a serious impact on representativeness for bargaining purposes.

The Vitasoy company has refused to bargain with the Vitasoy Employees Union with regard to wage setting mechanisms. The company does not want to participate in regular negotiations with the union.

On 28 March 2013, over 500 dock workers at the Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT) went on strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike to fight for better salary and working conditions. They occupied the main entrance of the terminals in order to paralyze daily operation. However, HIT applied for an emergence injunction injunction A court order prohibiting or preventing a certain course of action, such as calling or continuing with a strike. order granted by the court on 1 April 2013. Workers were forced to leave the terminals which weakened the impact of the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action.

The ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) has repeatedly urged the government not to exclude workers in this sector as a whole from collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. Nevertheless, the Hong Kong government insists that there is no need for collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
in the public sector, on the grounds that well-established and effective machinery for consultation concerning the conditions and terms of employment of civil servants is in place. However, civil service reforms since 2002, involving transfers, reductions in wages and benefits, retrenchment and contracting-out contracting-out The practice whereby an employer transfers an aspect of its business operation to an external provider. Also called outsourcing. Not to be confused with subcontracting (the further delegation of work by the external provider). to the private sector have demonstrated very clearly that the government has been free to act unilaterally without consulting the affected civil servants. Labour relations in the public sector have thus been very strained.

Cases of dismissal or harassment for trade union activity are reported each year. However, due to the difficulties establishing anti-discrimination, litigation against employers for this offence remains a weak tool for victimised workers. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has been critical of the lack of effective protection against anti-union discrimination anti-union discrimination Any practice that disadvantages a worker or a group of workers on grounds of their past, current or prospective trade union membership, their legitimate trade union activities, or their use of trade union services. Can constitute dismissal, transfer, demotion, harassment and the like.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework

in Hong Kong, evidenced by the low number of complaints filed by the Labour Department and the even lower number of successful cases against employers - not more than two since 1997.

The Hong Kong SAR government has lauded tripartite committees at the industry level as useful tools for promoting bipartite voluntary negotiation. The Labour Department has set up nine tripartite committees covering catering, construction, property management, retail, hotel and tourism, logistics, printing and theatre as well as the cement and concrete industry. These committees are consultative only in nature, loose in organisation, and do not assume any legally binding responsibility to establish or promote collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
mechanisms at corporate or industrial level.

The “collective agreements” that the government claims were signed in the food processing and security services industry were not known by workers in the two sectors. Nor are the industrial affiliates of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU)in these sectors aware of the existence of these agreements. As the government continues to resist collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
legislation, there is no procedure and scope to define negotiations. The result is that talks in these tripartite and industrial committees tend to be on issues un-related to labour standards, with no accountability to workers in the industries.

There is no institutional framework for the recognition recognition The designation by a government agency of a union as the bargaining agent for workers in a given bargaining unit, or acceptance by an employer that its employees can be collectively represented by a union. of unions and collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. Employers in general continue to refuse to recognise unions as well as refusing to implement agreements that have been negotiated. Although roughly 23% of the workforce is unionised, unions are unable to force management to engage in collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
. Less than 1% of workers are covered by collective agreements, and those that exist are not legally binding. Without legal protection to guarantee these rights, workers are subject to arbitrary and unilateral actions by employers and, as a consequence, are denied job and income security.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) is consistently excluded from the Labour Advisory Board (LAB), the tripartite consultative body established by the government, which does however include pro-government union federations. This exclusion means it is denied the right to participate in tripartite negotiations on labour laws and policy and is excluded from bodies such as the Committee on the Implementation of International Standards, which reports to the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights . Employers often attempt to take advantage of the disparity and political divisions among staff unions including the divide between the pro-democracy HKCTU and the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU).

The use of force by the Hong Kong Police has escalated over the last two years during assemblies and demonstrations, particularly protests and demonstrations staged outside the Government Office and the Liaison Office of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Hong Kong. The use of physical force, arrests and elective prosecutions show a heightened level of intolerance towards individuals and organisations exercising the rights of expression, association and assembly.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association and the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association protested against the suppression of press freedom and freedom of expression by the Hong Kong authorities during the visit of te Vice Premier of the PRC, Li Keqiang, to Hong Kong on 20 August 2011. Earlier in 2011, the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association protested after the police used disproportionate force against members of the news media who were reporting on the public rally against the government on 1 July 2011, the 14^th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China.