End of Port Strike

(Credits: China Labour Net / LabourWorld)

On 6th May, dock workers in Hong Kong ended a 40-day strike that affected the world’s third-busiest container port. About 450 workers agreed to a pay increase of 9.8%, after initially demanding a hike of more than 20%. While the Legislative Councillor and union leader, Lee Cheuk-yan, regarded the offer as a ‘face-saving compromise’, other union leaders said the deal was a success. The pay rise was for all workers, not just those who went on strike, and also addressed complaints about working conditions at the port. However, not all workers were satisfied as the offer was “quite a bit off” when compared to their initial goal.

A Hong Kong trade association estimates that delays in moving cargo on and off ships at the terminal resulted in a backlog of between 80,000 and 90,000 containers. Hutchison Port Holdings, the port operator owned by Li Ka-shing, said that it was operating at 80-90 percent of capacity in April and that 100 ships had reportedly skipped the port because of delays. Some shipping companies chose to bypass Hong Kong in favour of nearby ports in the Mainland. Hutchison would now “focus on restoring the port to its full operational capabilities”.

Large strikes in Hong Kong of this scale are rare because of weak unions and generally improved working conditions. The fact that this time’s strike was the longest in years reflected the drastically low pay and unacceptable working conditions of dock workers. It also raised questions about the competitiveness of the city’s port amid intensifying competition from regional rivals.