Lifeguards strike to defend labour conditions
Around one half of Hong Kong’s 1,600 lifeguards went on strike to take part in a sit-in to demonstrate displeasure at government proposals to reduce their wages. The action was the first strike by government employees since 2001 when hundreds of civil servants struck against the proposed privatisation of the Survey and Mapping Office.
Despite the Cultural Services Department’s and the Hong Kong Life Saving Society’s supply of 300 strike-breakers, two swimming pools were closed and services withdrawn in 19 others for the day.

The lifeguards have a recent history of wage reductions: salaries of HK$11,820 were cut to $11,115 in 2001 and then axed aggressively to $8,300 in 2003. The government used the ‘divide and rule’ principle to pitch workers against each other by fixing non’urban lifeguards’ pay at $10,000.

South China Morning Post, 19 July 2004

GP Batteries: Workers Exposed to Cadmium Poison
HK-owned GP Batteries International operates around 20 factories in China. In late 2003, workers in two GP factories – GP Chaoba Factory and GP Xianjin Factory (Huizhou, Guangdong) – with a total workforce of 2,000 mostly migrant women, were diagnosed with “an excessive level of cadmium in blood”. In June, workers started demanding full medical checks but GP arranged examinations for only about 500 - those exposed to cadmium-related processes. Of the 500 workers, 177 were found to be contaminated; among these only two had slight cadmium poisoning.

Fearing that the company-arranged medical checks were biased, some workers visited other hospitals for independent examinations – these results were very different from GP’s: amounts of cadmium in their blood was much higher.

Having lost all trust in GP management, the workers informed the mainland news media about the situation in late June. GP responded that all workers at Huizhou GP Factory had undergone proper training about cadmium, that the factory conformed to international standards for safety, workers’ health, environment, and sewerage, and that GP holds an ISO 14000 Certificate. However, the workers report that they received no training or warning about chemical hazards, and that GP supplied them with only paper masks and cotton gloves instead of the proper equipment.

After GP workers’ stories appeared in local news, workers undergoing medical treatment were intimidated and isolated to prevent them from speaking to journalists. Instead of supporting the workers’, the president of Huizhou ACFTU union branch - also the supervisor of GP’s personnel department - stated that workers should co-operate with employers to ensure safety!

Hong Kong groups are furious that GP violates basic labour rights in its factories in China. On 23 July, 40 protesters from labour and human rights groups stormed the headquarters of GP Batteries and demanded:
• All workers have blood and urine tests;
• GP pays all medical fees until workers fully recover;
• Full compensation for those poisoned.

On 10 September, groups including GM, AMRC, and HKCIC protested at GP shareholder’s AGM hotel entrance. The protestors successfully forced GP chairperson, Victor Lo, into public dialogue with them and handed him a list of 15 demands including creating a fund to deal with workers’ urgent needs.

On 10 October, Greenpeace China announced that samples of water, sediment, and dust from the drains at GP’s Xianjin Factory contain concentrations of cadmium 19 times higher than Hong Kong and mainland drainage standards. Since the Xianjin Factory is near to the East Stream, the source of Hong Kong’s drinking water, Greenpeace demanded an explanation from GP and the intervention of the government.

May Wong, 11 October 2004