Government owes janitors masks and wages & threatens layoff
BeWater(6 Feb) Among the labour sectors, the cleaning service industry is hit the hardest by the mask shortage. The Environmental Service Contractors Alliance (Hong Kong) said about 10% of firms in the industry had run out of masks. Some frontline workers even needed to re-use theirs for a few daysand described the situation as “very critical.” The Alliance had already written requests to Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR, earlier for allocating more masks. But no reply so far.Some outsourced contractors even said the Government had owed them wages for months. The Alliance warned the Government to immediately look at the problems of mask shortage and late payments. Otherwise, a “suspension of cleaning services would eventually commence.” Then Hong Kong [the Fragrant Harbour] would become the “Stinky Harbour.”
The Alliance comprises more than 3,000 firms, hiring about 250,000 frontline workers and contributing about 80% of the industry workforce. It provides cleaning services for streets, public toilets, shopping malls, parks and estates. It is estimated that each frontline worker needs at least one mask per day; and, for those of higher risks, 2 to 3 pieces. The entire industry will need 350,000 masks per day and approximately 2.5 million per week.
“The inventories of masks and protection suits have bottomed out and won’t be re-stocked in the next few days,” said Catherine YAN Sui-Han, the Convenor of the Alliance. Due to the public holidays during Lunar New Year and the epidemic, the mask supply was tight. The Alliance had surveyed more than 30 firms earlier, and most of them said their current stock level of masks would not last another two weeks. A firm with 4,000 employees even indicated as low as 10,000 masks were left. Yan said 10% of the firms were short of masks. Some of the frontline workers even needed to re-use their masks for days, or were forced to work without wearing one.
Yan pointed out that the Alliance had already sent a letter to Carrie Lam last Monday (3 February), urging the Government to allocate at least 5 million masks as soon as possible in order to meet the urgent demand at the frontlines in the next 2 weeks. But no response yet. “The Government should face the problems rather than hide and ignore us.” She also criticized the bureaucracy of the Government during the shortage crisis. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FeHD) supervised whether the contractors had provided sufficient masks to their frontline workers everyday, or FeHD would refer the violations to the Labour Department for disciplinary actions, adding insult to injury. “How cold-blooded? They just asked whether we had masks and never really thought about how to help us.”
Yan added that, recently, the Alliance got complaints from their members that the Government did not settle the monthly service fee for them as scheduled, including works done for FeHD, Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Hong Kong Housing Authority, etc., for unknown reasons. Some contractors had been owed payments for a couple months. She said, if the Government did not “pay up” within a month, some contractors would have cash flow difficulties to pay wages. More industry-wide actions would follow.
From 8 February onward, the Government will implement new epidemic control measures that would quarantine Hong Kongers returning from Mainland China at their residences for 14 days. Mr. FUNG Yiu-chung, the President of Environmental Services Operatives Union, said that many frontline workers were residing in Mainland and working in Hong Kong. “I can only suggest that these workers stay in Hong Kong, otherwise they won’t be able to make it to work.” He worried that some of the workers could not find places to stay and would have to sleep on the streets. Yan added that some of the workers would rather not return to Hong Kong or even quit, causing further shortage and potentially forcing them to hire part-time temporary substitutes.
Yan said they would be willing to pay more for the masks. “However, the masks are just out of stock now.” The industry felt very helpless. She emphasized that they would not strike. But that didn’t mean the crisis was over. “Suspension of cleaning service would happen eventually.” Staffing for some of the works might need to be halved. She urged the Government to respond, and called for aides from the general public by donating masks to their employees and combat the epidemic together.
Source: Apple Daily