After the demolition, in Hong Kong the lowest paid stops repair | Business and Economy

Hong Kong, China – When Foodpanda Hong Kong announced plans to reduce payments on orders and another $ 2 Hong Kong ($ 0.25) earlier this month, Ahmad and hundreds of other riders boycotted.

“This was a difficult time,” said Ahmad, who asked for the pseudonym for fear of retaliation. “Everyone was furious. He did not want to work for less. ”

The Pakistani participated in the food distribution phase during the epidemic in 2020 when its retail business was shut down by the city’s borders.

With a weekly rest, she was able to earn $ 30,000 a month from Hong Kong ($ 3,850) to support her family of four. However, after the restaurant reopened and food prices plummeted, the company reimbursed them for the gradual reduction of their salaries.

By October, it was difficult for Ahmad to earn $ 25,000 in Hong Kong ($ 3,209) a month, one-fifth of which he went to repair his motorcycle.

Shortly after Foodpanda announced a pay cut, several hundred members of the group flocked to the Telegraph team set up by the senders to discuss technical issues in the company’s program.

“People came in like flies,” Ahmad recalled, after being urged by a number of grievances over pay, suspension and unreasonable penalties, among other hardships.

“We are human beings, not dogs,” he read signs posted by motorcyclists and cyclists on the eve of November 13-14, which forced Foodpanda on the negotiating table, when its supervisors on Thursday graciously accepted compensation.

The gig workers crisis has not only happened in Hong Kong, but those in the global economic community are now doing very well.

In one of the most uncooperative cities in the world, workers oppose not only their companies under laws that are known to favor employers more than workers, but also a growing government intolerant of any form of planning and non-compliance.

Last month, the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU), the city’s largest independent trade union, announced its intention to end, joining a long list of organizations that acted under the auspices of the Beijing National Security Act. demonstrations to promote democracy in 2019.

The founders of the CTU and other allies are in jail for protesting or violating national security laws, which has wiped out all opposition and banned democratic institutions and journalists from the former British colonies. Beijing and the Hong Kong government have praised the security law for restoring peace and order in the city after months of protests that are often violent.

Without an umbrella group, working groups are left as “a shell without a bullet,” as one ancient man put it.

Political change has also been felt among workers on the ground floor.

When Foodpanda representatives spoke to the company on Wednesday, many passengers who gathered outside were warned by police not to attend an illegal meeting and threatened to pay fines for violating social norms.

The dissolution of the CTU was inevitable after the liberal politics that led to mass evictions for decades after the city relocated to China in 1997, said senior member Denny To, speaking from the former umbrella group office in Mong Kok.

“The way forward is something we need to know for ourselves,” he said. “The work of the trade union is long and fleeting. Whether it is stable after the partition is still in question. “

Hong Kong has some of the worst economic inequalities in the world [File: Chan Long Hei]

In 2017, To, who is also the head of the Cleaning Industry Service Workers Union, led a cleaners’ home at a 10-day protest that resulted in the return of laid-back pay and rising wages – a huge success for local workers. .

His team worked hard in the back, raising money for workers during the strike, gathering support from residents and talking to reporters.

Their success has resulted in more people working in all states and forcing the Hong Kong government to change the law in 2019. The new clause requires contractors to pay their workers the final interest.

However, when the cleaners’ contract expired last month, they complained that their employers were fomenting an old scourge: threatening employees with resignation and paying their downtime. Some cleaners said they were tricked into signing additional agreements that barred them from receiving the money, while a few others who refused said they had been threatened with pay cut and other penalties.

In today’s politics, repeating the To campaign on behalf of the cleaners is hard to imagine. The CTU is no longer there to provide the same assistance, while the allies in government positions have been removed from politics. Yeung Yuk, a district attorney who aligned with the cleaners, was among the 200 opposition councilors who resigned under duress in July.

“The workers at Grassroots may not have the sharpest knowledge of politics, but they do not know,” To To said. “They realize that those on their side are confused and it takes their courage to speak up.”

He also said he feared that it would be difficult to raise the voice of workers in Hong Kong, where prosecutors say the safety of workers is already weak and poorly managed.

“Workers’ safety has always been weak in Hong Kong. Without our word, the government can fix the policy on its own unless the pigs fly,” he said.

Ho Hung Hing, president of Catering and Hotel Industries Employees General Union, a former CTU ally, said the government had not done enough to establish gig economic policies.

“Even without the CTU, our networks will not be complete and we will continue to prepare,” Ho said, “but without a representative of parliament, our representation would not have reached the Legislative Council.”

Silver lining

There is, however, silver, as indicated by Foodpanda’s senders. Although the company did not increase interest rates on any of the plans, in accordance with its international guidelines, it agreed to suspend the prices until June next year, pay bonuses during the run and provide other types of compensation.

Speaking to reporters after the agreement, Pedros Dias, Hong Kong’s Foodpanda operations manager, said the dispute was caused by “incompatibility” with ships, although many passengers complained that they had no means of compliance.

Ho, who represented Foodpanda riders at the talks, said the co-operation of the co-workers was the key to their success, and uttered strong words that could not be ignored.

Although many progressive organizations formed during the 2019 protests were dissolved due to political instability, Ho commended the development team for promoting new political upheavals and for promoting political participation.

“Strikes in all cities may be impossible, but people have realized that by going on strike, they are taking part in activities that could affect the city’s politics and economy,” Ho said.

“Employees realize that they need to talk when they can see that there is nothing wrong with it. The vessel that unites the union may be extinct, but the people are still alive and doing what they can in their own industries. “

But Ahmad is back on his motorcycle. He was not completely satisfied with the results of the strike and agreed that he had to be flexible. But now they are bringing food knowing that shippers can use their energy to make changes.

“This is about our home, our family, and our life in Hong Kong,” he said.