Port operator's pay guarantee to dockers
Company to ensure subcontractors cough up more than inflation rate of 4.3 per cent - as union says strike deal promised double digits
The city's largest port operator announced yesterday it would guarantee all dockers hired by subcontractors would get a pay rise higher than the inflation rate in the wake of last year's strike.
Hongkong International Terminals (HIT) also warned its subcontractors that their contracts may not be renewed if they were found to have failed to treat their workers fairly.
But last night the promise of a pay rise higher than last year's inflation rate - 4.3 per cent - was greeted with disappointment by the Confederation of Trade Unions, which said it had been expecting a double-digit rise.
Kelly Tam, HIT's human resources general manager, said: "When we discuss with subcontractors their contract renewals, we'll also talk about employees' pay rise arrangement for 2014.
"We hope to listen to the views of employees and take into account inflation, the company's performance and the economic environment." The pay rise figure is expected to be announced in May, she added.
Franco Ning Fuk-kei, assistant general manager of operations, said that over the last 10 months the company had implemented more than 20 measures to improve the working conditions of dockers.
Those measures included renovating the operating cabs of some cranes and installing 17 additional washrooms in the container yard area.
