Academics and students join rally
Ironworkers' wage battle grew in momentum yesterday as supporters from the wider community - including academics, social workers and students - took to the streets in a rally to mark the 12th day of their strike.
Nearly 1,500 people marched from Chater Garden to the Government Headquarters in a dispute that saw talks stall last week.
Teachers, cleaning workers, feminists and other construction workers were also among those backing the metalworkers yesterday.
'We social workers have stable income, but the ironworkers do not. They should get fair pay,' Cheung Kwok-che, president of the Social Workers' General Union told those who joined the march.
Wearing red headbands to show their determination to fight, the metalworkers also carried a three-metre-long steel bar symbolising they were strong enough to cope with tough work, but financially fragile when it came to supporting their families.