KMB union in Hong Kong demands pay rise of up to 27 per cent for bus drivers
KMB Employees Union called for an average 12 per cent salary increase for 8,300 full-time drivers but lower-paid ones should get much more than that
A workers’ union on Thursday demanded that Hong Kong’s largest bus company, KMB, give drivers a pay rise of as much as 27 per cent and improve conditions amid an annual salary review.
The KMB Employees Union, which has more than 900 members, called for an average 12 per cent pay rise for the company’s 8,300 full-time drivers and for an assessment-based allowance to be turned into a regular payment.
“Many drivers working 10 hours a day earn HK$18,000 (US$2,308) a month, so it’s not unreasonable to ask for more than 12 per cent, to HK$23,000,” union chairman Kwok Chi-shing said. That would represent a 27 per cent increase for these drivers.
His union is one of six labour groups that represent KMB workers.
Every year in early summer, the company’s management and the two unions it recognises – the Motor Transport Workers General Union, KMB Branch and KMB Workers General Union – hold talks on a pay review. Both unions have a pro-government background.