Hong Kong working hours ultimatum: committee chairman calls for compromise after worker reps threaten to quit
Findings may be 'seen as incomplete' if six members make good on threat to quit committee
The chairman of the Hong Kong government's advisory committee on standard working hours yesterday called for compromise after six workers' representatives threatened to quit the group following more than two years of fruitless negotiations.
The representatives - who account for half of the Labour Advisory Board on the committee - announced plans, on Tuesday, to resign if no legislative proposal is put forward to regulate working hours by the end of the month.
"I respect and understand the employee representatives' worries," Dr Leong Che-hung, chairman of the committee, said.
"But, talking is the best way to reach an agreement. If the [workers' representatives] leave and refuse to talk, it's hard to achieve something we want ... I hope everyone can find room to compromise."
READ MORE: Put forward legislative proposal for standard working hours or we quit talks, warn Hong Kong employee representatives
Leong stressed the issue of standard working hours is complex and it is difficult to find an agreement acceptable to both employers and employees.
Leong said the results of previous consultations showed the community agreed that passing a "cut-off" law to regulate working hours may not work. According to Leong, more than 70 per cent of employers and employees felt working hours should be left to individual contract negotiations.