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Elaine Yau

Gary Cheung

The head of one of the city's largest fast-food chains yesterday blamed politicians for the company's botched plan to cancel workers' paid meal breaks.
Cafe de Coral chairman Michael Chan Yue-kwong  admitted the plan was politically naive but said its intention was not to abuse workers or undermine their rights.
'In retrospect, we may have focused solely on the business aspect and did not have sufficient political wisdom,' he said.
'The whole affair has been politicised. Politicians and their parties have used it as a political tool.'
The chain operates 150 outlets in the city and employs 17,000 workers, with 7,000 of these paid less than HK$28 an hour. 
It was embroiled in a dispute with the catering union after it offered a pay rise of between HK$2 and HK$3.50 for those earning hourly rates of HK$22 to HK$25, but on condition that they forfeited up to 45 minutes of paid meal breaks a day. 
The Executive Council is expected to set a statutory minimum wage at its meeting today,  believed to be HK$28 per hour. 
The Catering and Hotels Industries Employees General Union  cancelled a city-wide boycott of the chain, which enjoys 25 per cent of market share in the fast food industry, after the company announced on Saturday that the new pay structure would be revoked. 
A member of the Provisional Wage Commission,  Chan said his company was being unfairly singled out. 'There is a lack of a level playing field in the trade,' he said. 
'While we have been providing workers with paid meal breaks, some companies in the trade who offer an hourly wage of HK$25 to HK$26 do not do so.     
'We estimate that our wage bill will increase by an extra HK$120 million per month so as to meet the requirements after the implementation of the minimum wage.'
Although he took responsibility for the incident, he said the government did not impose any pressure on the company.  
Commenting on the strong public backlash, Chan said he had a stark lesson in politics. 
'I felt the pressure of public opinion,' he said 'It was unfortunate that we announced the plan at a sensitive time [when the minimum wage level was about to be announced].'     
Labour minister Matthew Cheung Kin-chung  said officials had kept abreast of developments but did not exert any pressure. 'We used the channels of communication to deal with the issue,' he said. 
Suzanne Wu Sui-shan, organising secretary for the union, said the incident  had highlighted an unfair practice common in the fast-food  industry. 
'Workers usually have half an hour for lunch that is paid.  Now, it has shrunk to 20 minutes or been withdrawn altogether. Instead of thinking about how to squeeze their workers further, the bosses should come up with innovative ways to improve their food to boost business.'



Cafe de Coral wage dispute 'politicised'