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Union demands equal time off for workers

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Make all public holidays statutory, say marchers

Unionists want labour laws revised to allow blue-collar workers five more public holidays a year.

The campaign, led by the Confederation of Trade Unions, seeks to scrap the practice of having separate sets of holidays for blue-collar and white-collar workers.

The confederation wants to make all 17 public holidays statutory paid holidays for every worker.

About 2 million workers in Hong Kong - or 60 per cent of the 3.5 million total - are entitled to only 12 paid public holidays a year, lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan, general secretary of the confederation, said. Most work in the catering, retail, transport and construction sectors.

But many office workers got 17 paid public holidays off a year, he said.

According to the General Holidays Ordinance, public holidays are taken by all banks, educational establishments and government departments.

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