Unionist legislators said yesterday they would be promoting at least seven private bills to improve labour welfare in the last 11 months before the handover. They admitted they were racing against time to try to accomplish the task. But legislator Lau Chin-shek maintained that 1997 was not a deadline in fighting for labour interests. 'Labour is not a matter of one year, two years or three years. It's a life-long commitment. 'The year 1997 is not a boundary which tells me to stop working for this goal,' Mr Lau said. Another unionist legislator Lee Cheuk-yan said: 'We don't have to bulldoze these things through because we are already very fast.' His colleague Leung Yiu-chung said it would be a pity if they were not allowed to finish their four-year term. He said this would mean they would have less of a chance to foster concern and discussion on labour and livelihood issues. Their seven proposed bills relate to collective bargaining, unfair dismissal, employees' compensation, trade unions, employees' welfare, housing, and occupational deafness. Mr Lee said their top priority next year would be trade union rights and the amendment to the employment ordinance to give more protection to trade unionists. The three said unionists had made a record number of achievements last year on labour legislation, adding that for years, the Government had neglected workers' basic trade union rights.
