Hong Kong rail staff threaten to strike as MTR Corp battles to restore driver morale after Yuen Long station attack
- Rail giant vows to review safety procedures after mob attacks passengers
- Unions urge members not to strike as anger over treatment of female driver remains
The MTR Corporation vowed to review its safety procedures on Monday as it faced the threat of imminent strike action, and battled to restore the morale of hundreds of drivers angry at its handling of the violence in a northern Hong Kong station.
As political tensions against the extradition bill continued to escalate, the rail operator’s frontline staff expressed outrage at its handling of the passengers who were beaten last weekend in Yuen Long, and there were calls online for a strike by drivers starting at 7am on Tuesday.
However, two railway unions denied any involvement in a possible strike, and one urged its members to refrain from doing so, and said it had no idea who was behind the move.
Tam Kin-chiu, vice-chairman of the pro-government Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions, which represents 4,000 MTR workers in four unions, said its members would not take part in any strike action.
“We call on our colleagues to stand fast at their posts, maintain the normal operation of the railways and continue to serve the public,” he said.
Tam made the appeal after his group met senior management of the MTR Corp to express concerns over the violence at Yuen Long station on July 21.
He said senior management had promised to review the procedures surrounding the safety of passengers and staff in the wake of the incident.
MTR releases details of Yuen Long violence to quell driver discontent
To Kwong-yan, the MTR Corporation Staff Union chairman, said the union had not organised a strike, and had not heard from any members planning to take part in industrial action. The union has more than 400 members.
“The company has been meeting its 3,000 drivers and other frontline staff to pacify their tensions over the past few days,” he said. “We don’t know who, if any, will join the strike but I hope it won’t impose any unreasonable punishment on them. We’ll also offer our members any assistance.”
The threat of a strike came amid a mounting internal crisis, as hundreds of frontline staff expressed anger at the rail giant’s handling of the Yuen Long incident, and accused it of letting a female driver take the blame and bear the brunt of public outrage.
The West Rail line’s station, which connects Hung Hom in Kowloon and Tuen Mun in the New Territories, descended into chaos when a group of about 100 men attacked passengers and passers-by with rods and rattan sticks.
At around 11pm, the driver told passengers to get out of the train, a move which drew a public backlash as moments later a group of men in white T-shirts launched a vicious attack on travellers on the platforms, and inside the train carriage.
After several attempts, the train finally closed its door and left the platform at 11.14pm. But the driver was criticised for ignoring passengers’ safety and leaving them vulnerable to the attack.
The MTR Corp insisted the control centre in Tsing Yi, which gave instructions to the driver, was operating according to established protocol, and made decisions based on instant intelligence from staff on site.
The violence also sparked outrage against the police, with officers not arriving on the scene until 35 minutes after the first emergency call was made.
Since the incident, about 1,000 staff from different sections of the MTR, including drivers from the Tseung Kwan O line, West Rail line, Ma On Shan line, and frontline staff from Tsing Yi and Sunny Bay stations have written to the corporation’s management to express their dissatisfaction with the way the matter was handled.
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An MTR spokesman said the management had been meeting with staff to listen to their concerns and views on how to better deal with similar incidents in the future.
As to the potential strike on Tuesday, he said the rail operator believed “the rail staff had the best interests of the public at heart, and were dedicated to providing a safe, comfortable and reliable service for passengers”.
“We’ll closely monitor the situation and make adjustments accordingly. We call for our passengers to be understanding and pay attention to the station broadcast and listen to the instructions of our staff,” he said.
