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A former Hong Kong Disneyland worker perched atop one of the park's most popular rides for more than two hours yesterday in an apparent protest against working conditions.

The 47-year-old man sneaked through the backstage area of the Space Mountain just after 2pm and climbed a tower on the 100-metre-tall indoor rollercoaster. Police took two hours to persuade the man, who had a knife and banner bearing characters including 'Blood' and 'Truth', to come down. The path to the tower was sealed during the incident. The protester, identified only as Man, was taken away by police when he came down.

His action came a week after a meeting between Disneyland group managing director Don Robinson  and the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions over complaints about working conditions.

'The man requested a meeting with the management of the park,' a police spokeswoman said. 'After two hours of negotiation with police, he finally came down.'

Witnesses said the man frequently used his phone while grabbing a pole on top of the tower.

'I don't think the man was going to jump,' said Paul Chan, who watched for more than 10 minutes. 'Maybe he wanted to attract more attention from people by choosing to climb during a public holiday.'

Mr Chan said that just after 2.30pm, he saw a lot of Disney officials rush to the tower and the road to the tower was sealed off.

A Disneyland spokeswoman said the park monitored access to the backstage areas of rides and the case was an isolated incident.

She said there were direct channels for staff to communicate their views to management.

But a park worker, who did not want to be named, said there had been no improvement in communication. 'The management people still refuse to listen to our views,' said the worker, who is involved in moves to set up a labour union at the park.

'For example, some of the park operation staff members only managed to have one day off per week instead of two until last week. The park has only agreed to pay money for extra working time, while the staff actually want compensation holidays.'

Disney refused to say how long the man had worked at the park or why he had left.

Legislator Lee Cheuk-yan,  who chairs the Confederation of Trade Unions, said the park had yet to show its commitment to improving working conditions.

He warned of a 'staff exodus' from the park last month, amid 67 complaints and 100 inquiries on alleged labour abuses at the park filed with the confederation.

'They can't just keep ignoring the voice of their staff,' Mr Lee said.

Hard work

A breakdown of the 67 complaints and 100 inquiries about alleged labour rights abuse at Hong Kong Disneyland received by the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions up to Tuesday.

GENERAL COMPLAINTS

Long working hours  67

Shift arrangements  58

Insufficient rest time  50

Insufficient staff  60

Unpaid lunch hours  61

HOTEL AND CATERING

No meals for staff  31

Restaurants dumping all unsold food  20

CARTOON CHARACTERS

Emergency medical aid can only take place out of sight  of visitors  25

Weight of costumes  26

Hygienic conditions of shared costumes  26



Ex-Disney worker in two-hour standoff