Hong Kong workers ready to sacrifice Lunar New Year break as scaffold net rules bite
Labour groups warn of rising unemployment as stricter scaffold net rules stall projects and leave hundreds of workers unpaid for months
Hong Kong plumber Anson Hui Po-lung is ready to work through his Lunar New Year break to make ends meet, after struggling since the citywide removal of scaffolding nets began in early December, in response to the deadly blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court.
Twenty public housing projects and 230 private buildings undergoing major maintenance had to suspend facade work after the removal of the nets, threatening the livelihoods of about 700 workers for more than two months.
As of mid-February, only 19 private buildings and six public housing projects have reinstalled nets under a new mechanism requiring stringent fire safety checks.
Before the Lunar New Year holiday began on Tuesday, Hui said he had yet to hear from his employer about resuming facade pipe work, which accounts for 70 per cent of his HK$40,000 (US$5,118) monthly income.
Currently earning about HK$10,000 a month from small‑scale interior pipe repairs, the 51-year-old said he could not afford new clothes or make travel plans for his children.
He still had to pay alimony to his ex-wife, cover the living expenses of his elderly mother and settle the rent, he added.
“If there is any emergency repair during the Lunar New Year holiday, I will still work as I can earn more money … Previously, I took a one-week break,” he said.