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Colleen Lee

More than 80 per cent of Hong Kong employees surveyed in the retail and catering sectors who worked during statutory holidays were not given double pay.
Of the 125 employees interviewed by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council this month, 99  said they did not receive extra pay  for working during holidays.
Only 26, or 20 per cent, of the respondents said they were given extra pay for working on public holidays.
The poll also found most major retail and restaurant chains did not offer double pay for staff working during public holidays.
'Only small restaurants and shops offer workers extra daily pay to lure employees to work during public holidays, as employers are worried they might face the problem of a lack of manpower,' council chairman  Lee Kwok-keung  said.
Mr Lee said about 90 per cent of restaurants and shops were open on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday and all were open on the second day.
'We received complaints from our members this year. They said they could usually have days off on the first two days of the Lunar New Year holiday, but recently they were made to work all three days, which are all statutory holidays,' he said.
The  council said the Employment Ordinance was outdated, as labour laws elsewhere, including the mainland, Taiwan, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore, required employers to pay staff double the daily rate on public holidays.
'The Employment Ordinance in Hong Kong only requires employers to arrange an alternative holiday within 60 days before or after the statutory holiday. But the law doesn't require bosses to pay the extra daily rate,' Mr Lee said. The  council urged the government to review the labour law.
Paul Tang Kwok-wai,  permanent secretary for labour and welfare, yesterday declined to comment on the union's call for a review of the Employment Ordinance.
A Labour Department spokesman said the Employment Ordinance covered the minimum standard of employment benefits for employees. Employers and employees were encouraged to draw up their own terms and conditions of employment that were outside  the statutory requirements.



Retail, catering workers denied extra pay for public holidays