Advertisement
Advertisement

Council boss 'threatened' union official

Joyce Man

The head of the Hong Kong Productivity Council threatened a top union member who had just been sacked not to stir up trouble, saying he could 'play tricks' too, a court heard yesterday.

That was what Ho Chi-wing said the council's executive director, Wilson Fung Wing-yip, told him one week after he was dismissed from his position as a council audio-visual assistant in October last year, after more than 15 years on the job.

Mr Fung also threatened to fire the union's chairman, Mr Ho told Kowloon City Court.

Mr Fung has been accused of deterring an employee from exercising his rights under section 21B (1) of the Employment Ordinance, which covers rights to union membership and activities. Mr Fung has denied breaching the ordinance.

Mr Ho, a union deputy affairs officer, received a termination notice from the council on October 17 last year, telling him he was fired owing to redundancies.

He challenged that reason, saying he was a victim of discrimination, although he did not elaborate on this.

Mr Ho said Mr Fung offered him 'candy' - two or three months of additional ex-gratia payment, but he rejected it and that upset the director. A week later, Mr Fung warned him against protesting, saying that if he 'put on a headband and staged a demonstration', the union's chairman, Ho Yee-wai, would also be sacked. 'If you play tricks, I will also play tricks,' Mr Fung allegedly said.

And if he fired all the committee members of the union, then no one would be brave enough to take part, Mr Fung allegedly said, according to Ho Chi-wing.

For the defence, Lawrence Lok Ying-kam told the court Mr Fung denied saying those things. Mr Ho had made the allegations at the suggestion of the union boss, Mr Lok said.

Mr Ho also told the court that prior to his sacking he had opposed the council's move to dismiss a colleague, Lam Lai-yim, who was former deputy chairwoman of the union.

He raised objections to Mr Fung in a meeting, saying that he and other union members were willing to make sacrifices over it, without specifying what he meant by 'sacrifice'.

Mr Ho said that the day after the council let Ms Lam go on June 19 last year, he and members of the Clerical Officers and Professional Employees Association handed a protest letter to the Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Eddy Chan Yuk-tak.

He also arranged for them to send similar letters twice to Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan.

Mr Lok asked Mr Ho why he did not lodge a complaint with the Labour Department until November 12, nearly a month after he was dismissed.

Mr Ho said that until November 5, he had thought Mr Fung might change his mind, and he lodged the complaint only after realising he had no hope of getting his job back.

The hearing continues before Magistrate David Thomas.

Post