Hong Kong Airport Authority warns contractors over wage row in third runway project
- Operator of city’s aviation hub also gives reassurance that mega development will not be delayed or overrun budget
- Call follows staff protest, with workers claiming they are still owed salaries at end of contract
Hong Kong’s Airport Authority has waded into a labour row between contractors involved in the third runway project, calling for the proper management of workers’ wages following a staff protest over unpaid salaries.
More than 100 staff members under main contractor Leighton Asia-Chun Wo, a joint venture, launched a sit-in demonstration on Tuesday morning, claiming they were owed wages at the end of their work arrangements with the authority.
The authority said it had been paying the main contractor according to agreed terms and procedures. The workers are managed by a subcontractor.
Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Michael Luk Chung-hung said the main contractor was in charge of foundation and substructure works for a new terminal at the airport, with the contract valued at HK$2.43 billion in 2017.
“The Leighton-Chun Wo Joint Venture has had disputes with some subcontractors – we’re still investigating the reasons – so they didn’t pay the subcontractors, who subsequently didn’t pay workers,” said Luk, who was a mediator in the row.
