Crux
11th October 2010, 17:09
Support Hong Kong bus drivers’ struggle
Monday, 11 October 2010.
For collective barganining rights • equal rights for contract workers
J. M. Roy, Socialist Action in Hong Kong
On 3 October representatives of Hong Kong bus drivers were guest speakers at the Socialist Action weekly meeting. The drivers, Chung Tsung Fai (鍾松輝), Cheng Kam Hung (鄭錦雄), are active members of the HKCTU (Confederation of Trade Unions) and have been instrumental in organising other drivers in the recent and ongoing disputes with four bus companies. The drivers’ demands are straightforward:
A 2.2% pay rise (equivalent to HK$176 per month)
The same rights and benefits for all bus drivers (contract workers are discriminated against)
A ‘thirteenth month’ bonus to be paid in accordance with normal Hong Kong employment practices
Support for strike
Recent strike action in August was widely supported by drivers. The first action involved 200 striking drivers. All 1800 KMB (Kowloon Motor Bus Co) drivers supported the strikers by stopping for an additional 10 seconds at each bus stop. The action might not seem significant, but the level of support shows the disgust that the drivers have with the company’s actions.
The company has used typical tactics to paint the drivers as unreasonable and try to weaken their campaign. They have ignored the most important demands concerning contract workers and the end-of-year bonus and have instead focused on the pay claim. They offered a 1.8% pay rise to the drivers. They claim the drivers are being unreasonable as the difference between this and the demand for 2.2% only amounts to HK$32.
This has been the main focus of the media: bus drivers causing disruption for the sake of HK$32. It ignores the fact the bus companies refuse to negotiate on the fate of contract workers, who receive inferior health care and no job security. It ignores the fact the employers are only offering a HK$1,800 end of year bonus as opposed to a full month’s salary as is the norm in most Hong Kong companies. The dispute is not over a HK$32 difference in demands, which is an insignificant amount to a company (KMB) which made HK$680 million in profit. It is about equal and fair treatment for all workers and solidarity in the face of the bosses’ divisive tactics.
Chung and Cheng explained that because of the erosion of labour laws and lack of workers’ rights in Hong Kong, the bus companies have been able to employ several underhand tactics to counter the threat of strike action (at First World Bus and City Bus):
They have offered bribes of HK$300 to drivers willing to work on strike days.
They have transferred drivers from other bus companies to work on strike days (there are four privately-run bus companies in Hong Kong).
They have called drivers out of retirement to work in place of striking drivers.
They have been conducting talks with the CCP [China's ruling Communist Party] backed FTU (Federation of Trade Unions), which has little or no support amongst drivers.
FTU: Bosses’ union
In Hong Kong there are two union bodies. There is the HKCTU, and there is the FTU. The HKCTU has been instrumental in supporting the drivers in their dispute with the company. The FTU opposes strike action and has urged the drivers to accept the company’s offer. The FTU is pro-Beijing and affiliated to the ACFTU in China – the same union which regularly uses violent attacks on striking workers inside China, most recently in the Honda strikes.
Chung described how the FTU can maintain a sizeable membership for two reasons, the first is that they offer large insurance incentives and discounted services to new members. Workers soon come to realise that the FTU does not represent their interests. In a recent survey of bus drivers, 80% said the FTU does not support them. However this does not matter because workers cannot leave the FTU. All membership is lifetime membership. This gives the FTU the advantage of claiming a large membership while having very few active or real members. This gives the bosses the advantage of being able to negotiate with a ‘union’ safe in the knowledge that they will never endorse strike action and will acquiesce to the company’s demands.
The FTU is merely an arm of the CCP in Hong Kong, said Chung. They are used to ensure that labour disputes are settled on the bosses’ terms. After the handover in 1997, laws were passed to outlaw collective bargaining, one of the cornerstones of workers’ rights. The FTU was instrumental in the passing of these laws, and its president, Cheng Yiu-tong sits on both the unelected Executive Council of Hong Kong and the People’s National Congress in Beijing.
Action
The main objective for the drivers is to spread awareness and solidarity among other drivers. Many drivers are understandably worried that they will lose money if they go on strike and will not be able to support their families. For this reason a fund has been set up to support future strike action. Bus drivers will try to forge links with workers in other sectors whose rights are also under attack.
Monday, 11 October 2010.
For collective barganining rights • equal rights for contract workers
J. M. Roy, Socialist Action in Hong Kong
On 3 October representatives of Hong Kong bus drivers were guest speakers at the Socialist Action weekly meeting. The drivers, Chung Tsung Fai (鍾松輝), Cheng Kam Hung (鄭錦雄), are active members of the HKCTU (Confederation of Trade Unions) and have been instrumental in organising other drivers in the recent and ongoing disputes with four bus companies. The drivers’ demands are straightforward:
A 2.2% pay rise (equivalent to HK$176 per month)
The same rights and benefits for all bus drivers (contract workers are discriminated against)
A ‘thirteenth month’ bonus to be paid in accordance with normal Hong Kong employment practices
Support for strike
Recent strike action in August was widely supported by drivers. The first action involved 200 striking drivers. All 1800 KMB (Kowloon Motor Bus Co) drivers supported the strikers by stopping for an additional 10 seconds at each bus stop. The action might not seem significant, but the level of support shows the disgust that the drivers have with the company’s actions.
The company has used typical tactics to paint the drivers as unreasonable and try to weaken their campaign. They have ignored the most important demands concerning contract workers and the end-of-year bonus and have instead focused on the pay claim. They offered a 1.8% pay rise to the drivers. They claim the drivers are being unreasonable as the difference between this and the demand for 2.2% only amounts to HK$32.
This has been the main focus of the media: bus drivers causing disruption for the sake of HK$32. It ignores the fact the bus companies refuse to negotiate on the fate of contract workers, who receive inferior health care and no job security. It ignores the fact the employers are only offering a HK$1,800 end of year bonus as opposed to a full month’s salary as is the norm in most Hong Kong companies. The dispute is not over a HK$32 difference in demands, which is an insignificant amount to a company (KMB) which made HK$680 million in profit. It is about equal and fair treatment for all workers and solidarity in the face of the bosses’ divisive tactics.
Chung and Cheng explained that because of the erosion of labour laws and lack of workers’ rights in Hong Kong, the bus companies have been able to employ several underhand tactics to counter the threat of strike action (at First World Bus and City Bus):
They have offered bribes of HK$300 to drivers willing to work on strike days.
They have transferred drivers from other bus companies to work on strike days (there are four privately-run bus companies in Hong Kong).
They have called drivers out of retirement to work in place of striking drivers.
They have been conducting talks with the CCP [China's ruling Communist Party] backed FTU (Federation of Trade Unions), which has little or no support amongst drivers.
FTU: Bosses’ union
In Hong Kong there are two union bodies. There is the HKCTU, and there is the FTU. The HKCTU has been instrumental in supporting the drivers in their dispute with the company. The FTU opposes strike action and has urged the drivers to accept the company’s offer. The FTU is pro-Beijing and affiliated to the ACFTU in China – the same union which regularly uses violent attacks on striking workers inside China, most recently in the Honda strikes.
Chung described how the FTU can maintain a sizeable membership for two reasons, the first is that they offer large insurance incentives and discounted services to new members. Workers soon come to realise that the FTU does not represent their interests. In a recent survey of bus drivers, 80% said the FTU does not support them. However this does not matter because workers cannot leave the FTU. All membership is lifetime membership. This gives the FTU the advantage of claiming a large membership while having very few active or real members. This gives the bosses the advantage of being able to negotiate with a ‘union’ safe in the knowledge that they will never endorse strike action and will acquiesce to the company’s demands.
The FTU is merely an arm of the CCP in Hong Kong, said Chung. They are used to ensure that labour disputes are settled on the bosses’ terms. After the handover in 1997, laws were passed to outlaw collective bargaining, one of the cornerstones of workers’ rights. The FTU was instrumental in the passing of these laws, and its president, Cheng Yiu-tong sits on both the unelected Executive Council of Hong Kong and the People’s National Congress in Beijing.
Action
The main objective for the drivers is to spread awareness and solidarity among other drivers. Many drivers are understandably worried that they will lose money if they go on strike and will not be able to support their families. For this reason a fund has been set up to support future strike action. Bus drivers will try to forge links with workers in other sectors whose rights are also under attack.