More sites hit by strike amid dwindling hope of new talks

No sign of negotiations between bar benders and contractors

There is little chance of a new round of negotiations this week between striking ironworkers and contractors, a government source said yesterday.

The assessment came as the number of construction sites seriously affected by the dispute jumped from nine at the end of August to 14 yesterday, while the number of bar benders on the job remained at about 930. There are 166 construction sites in the city. Bar benders lay the girders that form the skeletons of buildings.

'We are not optimistic that the workers and the Bar-bending Contractors' Association will return to the negotiating table this week,' the source said, adding that the contractors were furious with the workers for refusing to compromise when given a new offer.

At talks last week, the contractors added HK$25 to the HK$850 daily wage they offered on August 12. But this was rejected by the Federation of Trade Unions, which is insisting on HK$900.

The leader of the rival Confederation of Trade Unions, legislator Lee Cheuk-yan, admitted the breakdown in talks had made it more difficult to solve the crisis.

'We will have to adopt a new strategy, which is extending our battlefield to all construction sites instead of gathering striking workers at one particular site,' he said. Mr Lee said workers' spirits were still high.