Should Hong Kong workers get the day off after a typhoon? Calls grow to give leader power to declare state of disaster
Members from opposing political camps put aside differences at special meeting to grill officials on Mangkhut clean-up
Hong Kong’s two rival political camps put aside their differences on Thursday to lobby the government for a law empowering the city’s leader to give workers the day off after extreme weather such as recent monster storm Mangkhut.
Legislators insisted officials do more to protect workers, and make it illegal for bosses to penalise them for not showing up after a major disaster.
They cited the thousands of workers left confused and angry by the large-scale suspension of public transport services when they tried to return to work after Typhoon Mangkhut tore through the city on a Sunday last month. Some who did not make it to work had their annual leave deducted, one lawmaker said.
When chaos erupted on the Monday, critics asked why Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had not urged employers to give workers the day off.
Lam said it would have been irresponsible for her to do so, though she asked Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu to review how the government handles work and travel arrangements after major storms.
The two camps’ show of unity on Thursday took place at a special meeting of the Legislative Council House Committee, which is tasked with scrutinising bills before they are tabled at full council. The meeting had been called, despite the summer recess, for officials to brief legislators on their post-typhoon work.