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Agnes Lam

Workers at Jardine Airport Services are unhappy over a new medical plan  that requires them to pay HK$30 for every visit to a doctor.
Yip Wai-ming, deputy director of the Federation of Trade Unions, who is helping the workers  negotiate with management, said about 1,000 workers were affected by the plan, which  took effect on January 1.
Under the plan, workers have to pay HK$30 when they consult panel doctors. If they visit doctors of their own choice, they can reclaim 70 per cent of the  fees.
They also have to pay for drugs not listed by the  plan.
Under the previous scheme, workers could consult doctors for free, and medication, clinical services and hospital bills were covered up to HK$100,000 a year.
'Some drugs of better quality are not covered by the plan, and workers are worried that they might have to pay a lot for better medication,' Mr Yip said.
'We demand that management suspend implementation of the new scheme and conduct a more thorough consultation with the workers. Management should also make changes to the scheme and make it acceptable to both parties before introducing it again.'
Staff and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines  general secretary Chan Po-choi  said that although the new  package was upgraded to HK$110,000  for drugs, clinical services and  hospital bills, workers found  new services  like overseas medical coverage  not very useful.
'It is always better for workers to pay nothing for medical services, as they often need to seek consultation when they catch a cold or fever,' Mr Chan said. 'They don't often use the overseas medical coverage.'
Anita Lo Siu-yin,  human resources director of the company, said the new scheme allowed workers  more choices of doctors.
She also said the company was exploring an option to allow staff to buy drugs not covered by the  new scheme from pharmacies and then  claim the money back.
'We will try to make changes to the plan  to better suit the needs of our workers,' she said.



Airport workers criticise new plan that charges them to see doctors