Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/2189426/hong-kongs-mtr-corp-under-fire-post-retirement-plan-makes
Hong Kong/ Transport

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp under fire for post-retirement plan that ‘makes senior staff feel like cheap labour’

  • Embattled rail operator confirms one-year trial scheme for retired supervisors to be ‘re-engaged as frontline staff’
  • Rail supervisors over retirement age of 60 to be hired back in lower positions with 30 per cent pay cut

Hong Kong’s embattled rail operator has drawn fire over a plan to rehire retired workers at lower salaries and positions, with some senior staff members saying the policy made them feel like “cheap labour”.

Tam Kin-chiu, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions, said on Sunday that many MTR Corporation supervisors felt they were being exploited by the city’s rail giant.

“We think this trial scheme is unfair as it is only open to supervisor-grade staff on a selective basis. Those who are selected must be re-employed as general-grade staff, which is lower than their existing grade,” Tam said.

According to him, the plan would allow rail supervisors reaching the retirement age of 60 to be hired back in lower positions – such as train conductors or station staff – at a pay cut of more than 30 per cent. He said the one-year trial scheme was set to begin in September.

“It means that to have this post-retirement job opportunity, they must be downgraded to take a lower position and accept a pay cut from the existing monthly salary of HK$30,000 to HK$20,000 [US$2,547],” he said.

Tam added that under the plan some benefits, including medical coverage for spouses, would be removed.

The supervisors feel like they are being turned into cheap labour if they want to continue to work for the MTR Corp after the age of retirement. Tam Kin-chiu, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions

“The supervisors feel like they are being turned into cheap labour if they want to continue to work for the MTR Corp after the age of retirement. All they hope for is to retain their position and pay, and work beyond the retirement age,” he said.

“But in the face of the MTR monopoly, they don’t have any choice. They don’t have anywhere else to turn if they don’t work for MTR Corp.”

Tam said that for more than two years a number of MTR Corp general-grade staff who reached 60 had been offered jobs, but the selection criteria was unknown.

The union leader called the post-retirement plan “discriminatory” and “piecemeal”. He urged the MTR Corp to extend the retirement age from 60 to 65 without pay cuts or conditions.

“We think that all these post-retirement arrangements are discriminatory as we don’t know the selection criteria. There’s no transparency about it. Our union calls for the MTR Corp to introduce a universal policy to extend the retirement age to 65 for all staff with their original positions and pay remaining the same,” he said.

The government is the rail company’s majority shareholder with 75 per cent, Tam pointed out, adding that the MTR Corp should follow the administration’s retirement policy.

An MTR spokesman confirmed that the one-year trial scheme for retired supervisors to be “re-engaged as frontline staff” would be launched in September. He said the plan aimed to avoid “jeopardising the promotion prospects of frontline staff”.

“The corporation will review the effectiveness of the trial scheme, and will maintain ongoing communication with staff,” he said.

The spokesman did not say if the rail company would consider extending the retirement age, only that the MTR Corp would consider various factors, such as recruitment difficulties and workforce transition challenges.

“Deferred retirement beyond the normal retirement age will be considered subject to prescribed criteria and situations in accordance with the established policy,” he said.

The rail company, which employs more than 17,000 people in Hong Kong, reported a 7.1 per cent rise in underlying profit last week to HK$11.26 billion (US$1.43 billion). The company had a record 1.67 billion passengers last year.