BANKERS, industrialists, developers and big corporations are the ones enjoying the free lunch, argued trade unionist Lau Chin-shek in response to accusations against liberal grassroots members of the legislature.
Mr Lau, chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions, used the motion of thanks to deride the suggestion Legco was occupied by a majority of the 'free-lunch faction' after the September election.
It was the bankers who charged high lending rates and offered low savings rates who were enjoying a free lunch, said Mr Lau, a core Democratic Party member.
And the industrialists who demanded lower profits tax while making huge profits were also having a free lunch.
Big corporations which demanded increases every year and property developers who pressed for measures to boost the property market were also at the free lunch table, Mr Lau said.
The motion was transformed into a debate between employer and employee representatives over the direction of economic policy.
Liberal Party member Edward Ho Sing-tin condemned those asking to halt labour importation, saying: 'They are actively calling for a stop to all importation of workers as if that is the chief cause of rising unemployment.
