40 KMB drivers stage protest at busy Hong Kong bus terminus over pay rise dispute
Negotiation breakdown leads to blocked vehicles at Sha Tin and union leader describing management as ‘arrogant’
A pay negotiation breakdown between the city’s biggest franchised bus operator and the firm’s largest labour union led to a short-lived traffic disruption in Sha Tin on Tuesday when workers staged an impromptu demonstration at a busy terminus and accused their employers of being insincere.
In their seventh round of negotiations on Monday, KMB only agreed to increase workers’ salaries by 5 per cent, or a minimum of HK$1,000 for frontline workers such as bus drivers and station supervisors.
The proposal fell short of the demands of the Motor Transport Workers General Union, which called for a pay rise of 5.5 per cent and at least HK$1,500 for such workers.
The company’s offer prompted about 40 members of the union, which claimed to have 8,000 KMB employees in its fold, to block buses at the exit of the Sha Tin Central Bus Terminus for 30 minutes on Tuesday morning. Traffic in the area was disrupted.
Lai Siu-chung, leader of the union’s KMB branch, described his employers as “arrogant” and “disrespectful” in the negotiation meeting on Monday. He claimed a management employee had told one of the union members to “shut up” after the member said workers’ pay and benefits since 2014 had not been “ideal”.
