Wellfield Engineering says it will go bankrupt as it cannot pay wages

A strike-hit construction subcontractor said it would declare bankruptcy as it could not pay its workers the wages it owed them, according to a construction union representative.

Wellfield Engineering owes back-pay to the 150 workers it employed for the third phase of the Lohas Park Phase 3 residential development in Tseung Kwan O. The workers said Wellfield had not paid them since September and the company owed them about HK$6 million.

About 40 of the 150 workers walked off their jobs for the fourth day yesterday, and protested outside the site. "The company owes me HK$50,000. I need the money to pay for my two children's schooling. I also need the money for my mother who is paralysed and needs special care," said one worker.

The workers said that Wellfield had always been reluctant to pay them and they had organised strikes almost every month this year. But in the past the subcontractor had always backed down by the end of the first day of the strike, the protestors said.

Six workers became so emotional yesterday that they climbed on top of a four-metre shelter. One of them threatened to jump off. "Where is justice? We have worked so hard, but we are not getting paid for our hard work. Who is there to help us, the underprivileged, when we need help?" asked one protester.

They said the main contractor was Lanon Development, which hired Wellfield to find workers for the Lohas Park project. This complex subcontracting system was common, so contractors could limit their responsibility when disputes arose, workers said.

Representatives of Wellfield, Lanon, and the Labour Department met protestors yesterday.

Construction Industry Employees' General Union chairman Chow Luen-kiu, quoted the Wellfield representative as saying the company would declare bankruptcy as it could not afford to pay the workers. But Lanon would pay them HK$2 million.

The workers would seek help from the Labour Department to see how they could pursue their demands after Wellfield declared bankruptcy, he said.

Chow also said there was a large loophole in the construction industry's contract system, whereby a contract only stated part of a worker's daily rate, and the rest was promised verbally.

Chow said under this "outdated custom" workers might only be able to get the part of their wages stipulated in the contract during payment disputes. Frustrated with the meeting's outcome, the workers took their anger to the Cheung Kong Center in Central and protested there.

Cheung Kong, the developer of Lohas Park, said the dispute had nothing to do with the group, although it urged Lanon to follow up on the issue.

A labour department spokesman expressed deep concern over the issue and said officials had been negotiating with the workers and employers since Friday. He said the department would continue helping both sides to resolve the dispute over the rest of the unpaid salaries.

Wellfield could not be reached for comment and Lanon refused to comment.

A workers' representative said the strike would continue today and expected as many as 200 workers would show up.