Show of solidarity for May Day rally
Hundreds of foreign domestic helpers joined local workers in a show of solidarity yesterday to demand that the government abide by the ideals of May Day.
But Hong Kong's two biggest labour unions, which organised two protest rallies, were still far apart.
About 1,000 workers from the Beijing-loyalist Federation of Trade Unions marched from Chater Garden to the Government Offices in Central yesterday morning.
The Confederation of Trade Unions, part of the pan-democrat camp, attracted 2,800 mostly Indonesians, Filipinos and Thais to a colourful and rowdy day-long festival of slogan-shouting, dancing and singing from yesterday morning at Victoria Park before marching to the Government Offices in the afternoon.
Thirty-one Indonesian, Thai, Filipino and Nepali associations also entertained workers in a May Day programme organised by the Coalition for Migrants' Rights at the Central Lawn in Victoria Park.
'Together, we move and we fight for our rights', the Indonesians proclaimed on their T-shirts, as they carried placards and banners calling for an end to 'underpayment and excessive agency fees'.
