Over 35,000 public sector workers held a protest rally on July 7, condemning the government's aggressive unilateral moves to impose pay cuts and calling for the right to collective bargaining.

The government has not only refused to negotiate with civil servants' unions over the pay cuts, but plans to introduce legislation (the Public Officers Pay Adjustment Bill) on July 10 to enforce the pay cuts by law. This measure is designed to prevent any possibility of a legal challenge by the unions over the pay cuts. However, the new legislation has longer-term implications. By legislating these pay cuts the government has effectively abolished any mechanism for consultation with civil servants' unions and established a legal basis for further cuts and changes to civil servants' pay and benefits.

On several occasions the ILO has strongly criticised the Hong Kong government (both before and after reunification with China) for its failure to ensure collective bargaining rights in the territory. The Hong Kong government has always claimed that a mechanism of voluntary 'consultation' with unions exists in the civil service, and as such collective bargaining legislation is unnecessary. However, over the last three years the government has rejected any need for consultation with civil servants' unions over increased outsourcing, casualisation, and privatisation. Moves to now legislate a new round of pay cuts again exposes the failure of 'consultation' which can never replace collective bargaining rights.


July 7, 2002 - Public sector workers and their families gather in Victoria Park before the start of the rally.