In Brief
Bosses now have to keep pay records for a year
A law which requires employers to retain employee wage and employment records for a year instead of six months takes effect today. Under the law, entitlements such as holiday pay, annual leave pay, sickness allowance, and maternity leave pay will be calculated on the basis of average wages earned in the employee's last 12 months of employment, a Labour Department spokesman said. Two guidebooks are available for download from the Labour Department's website. Inquiries can be made on 2717 1771.
Seamen up in arms
Thirty seamen and unionists marched in Central, saying they feared for their jobs because First Ferry (Macau) has hired mainland seamen to man ferries on the Hong Kong-Macau route. They marched to New World Tower to submit a letter to New World Development, and then to the Marine Department to hand over another letter.
Racetrack gates damaged
Two iron gates at Sha Tin racecourse were damaged about 4.30am. Police found the gates near the racecourse's front entrance smashed, apparently by a car which was stolen and had been abandoned nearby.
Bakeries told to cut prices
Consumer Council chief executive Connie Lau Yin-hing said bakeries should lower bread prices now they would not have to pay a tax imposed on mainland-produced flour. Many bakeries raised prices when the tax was announced last week. Beijing exempted Hong Kong soon after.
Concrete hits elderly man
A 78-year-old man suffered head injuries when he was hit by a piece of concrete which fell from Ching Man House residential building in Ho Man Tin Estate. He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he was in stable condition.
Gas scare at PLA barracks
Firemen were despatched to the People's Liberation Army barracks in Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, over a suspected gas leak, which gas workers later determined was a false alarm.
