Mass Walkout At Pro-democracy Group Over Jobs Row

Twenty-two members of the Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre (NWSC) quit the group on Friday, in protest at the threatened dismissal of three members of staff.

Lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung from the group had repeatedly warned this year that the NWSC does not have the money to keep employing the three workers.

But they have never been given formal notification of any sackings, leaving the future of their jobs up in the air.

One of the members leaving the group, Au Lap-hang, said Leung's explanations for the feared job losses have varied.

"The first reason was that he claimed he wanted to get back the resources for employing these three people to support his election campaign. The second version was that he claimed the NWSC has some serious financial problem. But he did not disclose to us the exact details," Au said.

"Any of the reasons are unacceptable to us," he added.

But later Leung rejected the allegations, saying they aren't true.

The lawmaker said he has simply been warning that if the group can't solve its cash flow problems, some people may have to be laid off.

Leung said it was all a misunderstanding, in part down to mistrust between younger members and others in the group.

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