Hong Kong dockers reject 9.8pc pay rise offer as Dutch arrive to show support
Union says its members unanimously agreed to turn down a 9.8 per cent pay rise offer as Dutch unionists arrive in city to show their support
Striking dockers yesterday rejected a 9.8 per cent pay rise offer from their employers, and said they would only settle the dispute through negotiations over pay and conditions.
Leaders of the strike at the Kwai Tsing container terminals, now the longest in Hong Kong industrial relations history, said the offer - made on Friday - fell short of the double-digit pay rise they wanted and did not cover issues involving working conditions which are also in dispute.
The latest twist in the industrial action, which enters its 39th day today, came as members of a Dutch trade union, which represents workers in a Rotterdam port owned by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) flew to Hong Kong to show their support.
HPH, through Hongkong International Terminals (HIT), operates the five terminals at Kwai Tsing. The striking dockers work for HIT contractors.
The Dutch workers said they were trying to build support for the strikers at ports across Europe.
The contractors - Everbest Port Services, Pui Kee Stevedore Company, Lem Wing Transportation and Comcheung Human Resources - presented their take-it-or-leave-it pay-rise proposal in a statement late on Friday, and added that they would not engage in further talks.
