'Govt Gave False Information In Holidays Proposal'

Government labour advisers on Tuesday accused officials of wrongly claiming that there's a consensus over a proposal to wait until 2030 to give blue-collar workers the same number of public holidays as office staff.

In papers submitted to Legco last week, the government said an extra holiday will be added every two years -- for a total of five in the next decade -- with Buddha's Birthday possibly the first to be added next year.

But the six labour representatives of the Labour Advisory Board said there was never a consensus, because they have not endorsed the idea.

They want the plan to be implemented sooner, in three years rather than 10.

"We disagree that, as stated in the Legco paper, the package was a result of a consensus reached at the board. We're dissatisfied that the government intended to create false information, this makes us angry," they said in a statement.

"We think when the economy stabilises, members of the board can reach a better package through dialogue."

The labour representatives also accused the government of bypassing the board in tabling the package to Legco, saying this would set a bad precedent and damage the advisory body's legitimacy.

They said they had expected the proposal to be discussed again after a board election in November, but that never happened.

The idea to increase the number of holidays for blue-collar workers from 12 to 17 a year was first raised by Chief Executive Carrie Lam in January 2020.

A board member, Bill Tang from the Federation of Trade Unions, said the government should have pushed ahead with the proposal earlier.

"If you said it in January, why not convene a Labour Advisory Board meeting the next month and discuss it?" the former lawmaker told a press conference.

Tang believes the opportunity to amend the laws may have gone with the economy now in bad shape.

Another board member, Leung Chau-ting, said now that the government appears to be pushing through a package that is not supported by the labour side, employers will have even bigger bargaining power on labour issues in future.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong has acknowledged that there was no consensus between employers and workers at the board over the proposal on holidays.

Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, Law said the government opted to table the proposal because it was at least acceptable to some bosses.

He explained that some employers went as far as seeking a cut in holidays for office staff from 17 to 12 each year.

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