Labour Day will once again be ‘protest-free’ in Hong Kong
- Federation of Trade Unions instead plans to arrange district visits for city leader and his aides to meet frontline workers and learn about their needs
- Former chairman of now-defunct Confederation of Trade Unions says neither will he hold any protest on May 1
Labour Day in Hong Kong is set to continue to be “protest-free” as the city’s largest workers’ union again dropped plans for a rally to mark the holiday.
Instead, the Federation of Trade Unions said on Sunday that it planned to arrange district visits for city leader John Lee Ka-chiu and his aides, including No 2 official Eric Chan Kwok-ki and Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han, to meet frontline workers and learn about their needs.
The pro-Beijing group also said it would mark Labour Day – the first since the enactment of the city’s domestic national security law – by issuing a joint statement with other unions on Wednesday and handing over proposals to officials at government headquarters over the next weekend.
It would also hold a banquet on Tuesday which Lee and central government envoys in the city were expected to attend.
“Staging a march is not the only channel to express our views. We have come up with more effective ways to promote labour rights and honour the spirit of Labour Day,” said federation president Stanley Ng Chau-pei, also a member of the government’s key decision-making Executive Council.
“We will be holding a series of activities in the coming week simply because that is what workers want. Not holding a march does not mean we are trying to avoid anything. We think those activities are more effective channels to let workers express their opinions.”
Meanwhile, a labour activist and former core member of the now-defunct democrat-friendly Confederation of Trade Unions said he had no plans to hold any protest on the May 1 holiday this year.
