Li Ka-shing tried this tactic a few years ago when he was upset about not getting his own way and it did not go down very well with Hong Kong people.

If Nestle did pull out, the loss would be all theirs as there is not one of their products in our stores that we cannot find an alternative for.

Employees have a right to seek better conditions and responsible employers try to accommodate reasonable demands and negotiate on others.

As Nestle's net profit for 2007 was US$9.7 billion, a 15.8 per cent increase on 2006, employees certainly had a right to some benefits.

Part of the profit increase was attributed by management to price rises.

As Hong Kong people are paying more for foodstuffs, we would certainly expect some of this to be returned to the community in the form of better remuneration for hard-working delivery staff.

A high-handed attitude by multinationals only reinforces the growing sentiment that they are too pervasive in their presence and certainly too big for their boots.

Mary Melville, Tsim Sha Tsui

Archaic law has no place in HK

The Department of Justice's recent declaration of its commitment 'to combating the crime of champerty and maintenance' is as effective as giving morphine to a patient with terminal cancer, as it makes Hong Kong the last refuge for the archaic common-law prohibition against maintaining or sharing the profits of legal proceedings.

In England, the Criminal Justice Act 1967 (Section 14) abolished maintenance and champerty as crimes and torts but kept the rules prohibiting lawyers from champertous proceedings.

With the introduction of conditional fee arrangements in the Courts and Legal Service Act 1990 (Section 58) and the subsequent Conditional Fee Arrangement Order, the restriction against lawyers was abolished in 1998.

Nowadays, contingent fee is the norm. This is not only the case in all mature common-law jurisdictions, but also in France and Japan.

Developments in legal ethics and the enactment of fair trade laws have rendered the common-law rules against champerty and maintenance obsolete.

These archaic prohibitions impede access to justice and the freedom of contract.

Their revival in Hong Kong contravenes the Application of English Law Ordinance, Cap 88 Section 3 (1a) which provides that common-law and equity rules 'shall be in force in Hong Kong' only in 'so far as they are applicable to the circumstances of Hong Kong'.

In a survey last year, the Law Society found that recovery agents were involved in 30 per cent of personal injury litigations and their claims of about 25 per cent of awarded damages were about what lawyers are allowed in England.

This showed Hong Kong lawyers' failure to satisfy social demand for the service which they are entrusted to supply.

Our legal institution's anachronisms such as the split profession, the pupilage arrangement and the prohibition against contingent fees are conducive to a high-cost, low-efficiency, cliquish, pretentious, insular and backward-looking legal system.

These anachronisms are overdue for a public review.

Cynthia Sze, Quarry Bay

Action needed on pollution

I have been shocked by some of the extreme weather conditions in Hong Kong.

The pollution index record was broken earlier this week ('Blackest day yet for air pollution', July 28).

I can still remember the Action Blue Sky campaign television commercials last year, but I have seen no positive results.

Our government reported a substantial financial surplus. I wonder how much of this sum will be spent on environmental protection.

Officials are always saying that they won't forget about the needs of their citizens, that they care about rising inflation and other important issues.

However, do they really care about our environment? They must appreciate that clean air is a necessity for Hong Kong people.

Ng Tse-ting, Kwai Chung

Video deserves wider audience

I am impressed by a short video with the combination of a Chinese song (Olympic Beijing in translation) and an animation, which has been screened for the last three weekends on ATV World. It is perhaps the first promotional song broadcast locally regarding the Olympics which carries English subtitles.

It is a high-quality music video and deserves a wider audience to try to fill us with the Olympic spirits.

Over the past few months I have seen various promotions for the Games, such as mascots and posters on lamp posts with writing that is difficult to read.

There have been singers performing on stage, but that is no different to the normal charity shows that are so common in Hong Kong.

With the advances in technology, a music video with creative animation and multi-media output is a far more effective way of getting the Olympic message across to the whole community and it is cost-effective.

It can be shown in MTR stations, at railway terminuses, airport arrival and departure halls, district community centres, cinemas, on the internet and on the official Games website.

It is clear that a lot of passion has gone into the making of this video.

By showing it at all these venues, the people who missed it on English-language TV would have a chance to see it and to share in the enthusiasm it expresses for the Games.

Given that we are so close to the opening ceremony I hope the relevant authorities will consider my suggestion.

Teresa Li, Kowloon City

A lot of hot air

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said Hong Kong's heat is one of the challenges athletes will need to overcome in the Olympic equestrian events.

I assume gasping for air will also be part of the competition.

I am sure his people are proud of the fact that breathing is now an Olympic sport and the gold medal goes to our Legislative Council which does nothing but add to the hot air.

Mark Peaker, The Peak

Missing sign

One of my favourite things to do with visitors is going up the Mid-Levels escalator, highlighting various points of interest.

One of these points would be Rednaxela Terrace. I was most disappointed on Tuesday afternoon to discover that the street plate is not there any more. Who took it down? The new occupants who painted the wall?

It was bad enough when they replaced the cast iron one with the new laminated metal one. Now it is gone altogether. This is preposterous. Can somebody enlighten me?

Yvonne Ng, Mid-Levels