450 workers lose jobs as factory closes

About 450 factory workers lost their jobs yesterday when a Yuen Long paper manufacturer declared bankruptcy. The workers received termination letters shortly before Concordia Paper in Yuen Long Industrial Estate closed without warning.

It is estimated wages owed exceed $10 million. There were more than 100 permanent staff paid monthly, with the rest on a daily basis. The workers were due to receive their second pay cheques of the month today. The Labour Department is registering workers.

Two Tsim Sha Tsui hotels have been urged to withdraw pay cuts of up to 12 per cent. The Hotel, Food & Beverage Employees Association yesterday criticised the Park Hotel and New Astor Hotel for slashing 440 workers' salaries.

'We made our message loud and clear,' vice-chairman Cheung Pui-sang said. 'But they refrained from saying anything definite.'