Construction Workers Face Another Year Of Wage Freeze

A construction workers’ union has urged the government to carry out more short-term projects to create jobs as it announced a wage freeze for members for another year.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union said the decision was made following talks with members, contractor associations and other stakeholders.

This means the wages of 15 major occupations in the industry will remain unchanged for the fourth year in a row.

Chairman of the union, Wong Ping, said a survey it carried out in July and August showed the sector is still recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as filibustering in Legco and protests in recent years.

He said it interviewed around 1,700 workers, and found that the unemployment rate was around 9.3 percent, and the underemployment rate was around 14 percent.

Ng Wai-leung, also from the union, urged the government to undertake more short-term contracts for building works, saying mega projects like Lantau Tomorrow or the Northern Metropolis can't help them make ends meet in the near term.

“We hope the government can do more short term works, such as renovating public toilets or pedestrian pathways, fixing the homes of elderly who live alone, or replacing old pipes in public housing estates,” Ng said.

“This could create jobs and improve people’s quality of life,” he added.