Monday's Strike Will Be Worth The Pain: CTU

The chairwoman of the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), Carol Ng, has conceded that a citywide strike planned for Monday will bring some disruption to the city, but says it will be a good way for people to show their dissatisfaction with the government.

Ng said the action will be larger in scale than a previous strike in June, with more workers downing tools this time.

She said most of the 95 unions affiliated with the CTU have voted to take part in the strike, including those from the transport sector, tertiary institutions, property management and groups representing security guards.

Ng urged other workers and even their employers to join the protest action.

"It is reasonable for us to escalate this to a strike, because we have been accumulating a lot of unanswered questions for too long," she said.

"I just need to remind everyone that if you choose to work on Monday you could be facing a certain amount of inconvenience to your travel journeys."

Reports also suggested that protesters were planning to cause disruption to MTR services on Monday morning, with calls for action at Lai King, Diamond Hill and Fortress Hill stations.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions, Wong Kwok, cautioned that a strike might not be in Hong Kong's best interests.

He said the government has already clarified that the extradition law bill which sparked the turmoil is "dead" but this hasn't stopped clashes between protesters and the police, and protests are now "moving in the direction of calling for Hong Kong independence".

Wong said that while going on strike is a right, people should consider whether this is the best move with the economy already deteriorating and the retail and catering sectors already suffering due to the weeks of unrest.