Unionists fail in attempt to extract commitment from management on retraining schemes for staff
Unionists yesterday failed to secure a pledge from the Link Management that contract staff at its 180 shopping arcades and car parks would have priority over other candidates in recruitment exercises.
Speaking after his first meeting with Link Management chief executive officer Victor So Hing-woh since the company was listed, unionist lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing said the management had agreed to keep only some staff for new duties that would arise.
The management, which took over 180 shopping arcades and car parks from the Housing Authority in November last year, also refused to commit to a quota for staff it would retrain for new openings, which are more customer service-oriented than previous jobs.
'They refused to promise how many people could get into the retraining programme,' he said. 'We are also very disappointed that the programme is available only in Tseung Kwan O at this stage.
'Many of those frontline non-skilled workers are now very worried about their future as their contracts will end by the end of the month,' he said.
Last month, the company announced a plan to axe over 1,400 jobs as a means to 'rationalise' its overstaffing problem, a move fiercely criticised by the public.
