Staff fear job losses if water privatisation plans go ahead. A unionist claimed yesterday the Government had already set an agenda on privatisation, and was using consultation studies as a 'disguise'. Tam Wing-tai of the Alliance of Staff Unions at the Water Supplies Department, said: 'The Government revealed at the last Legco meeting its intention to privatise government assets including the Water Supplies Department and list them on the stock market. We are sceptical about the causes and motivation behind this study.' He said staff feared job losses as a result of privatisation. They had become anxious and frustrated and their morale and job performance had suffered, he claimed. Some legislators said they feared privatisation might harm the public interest by creating a monopoly focusing solely on profit-making. Cheung Man-kwong of the Democratic Party said: 'Water quality, stable supply, cheap and subsidised services are the important factors to be considered in water supply. How do you ensure that under privatisation?' Lee Cheuk-yan of the Frontier said: 'As revealed in the cases of the two bus companies and electricity suppliers, privatisation inevitably results in fees running out of control. 'How can the public monitor them in that case?' Officials said it was premature to speculate on the impact of privatisation on staff.
