Citybus Union members and FTO organisers with Brothers Dickson and Urata from the ITF, Brother Linger from the TGWU, and Brother Mui Wing, chair of the Citybus Union.


Citybus Union activist, Lau Shek Yu, holds an empty 5 litre oil container which drivers must take into the booth to urinate. Women drivers and workers at the terminal must also use the container and booth.

From February 25 to 28, Brother Mac Urata, Inland Transport Section Secretary of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), Brother Eddie Dickson, Assistant Section Secretary of the ITF, and Brother Steve Linger from the Transport & General Workers Union (TGWU) in the UK, met with the bus union affiliates of HKCTU's Federation of Hong Kong Transport Worker Organisations (FTO). During their visit they held discussions with a new bus drivers' union alliance, participated in a joint seminar on bus multinationals, visited worksites, and met with AIDS Concern, an NGO which the FTO works with on the issue of HIV/AIDS and transport workers.

On the second day of their visit they held a joint press conference with the Citybus Company Staff Union. During the press conference Brother Urata was asked by a reporter what the two main problems facing bus drivers in Hong Kong are from the point of view of ITF. He responded that: "The first is collective bargaining. The employers must recognise the union and negotiate with them. This is a fundamental right, and in Hong Kong failure to respect this right is a serious problem," Brother Urata added that, "The second problem is health and safety. This extends from bus drivers facing very serious health risks as a result of excessive hours and fatigue, to access to decent toilet facilities. This issue of toilet facilities and adequate rest facilities is very important. During our visit to a Citybus terminal the union pointed out that drivers have no toilet facilities. This is unacceptable in such a large multinational company." Brother Dickson criticised multinational bus companies for maintaining double standards: "Why should these companies have one set of standards in one country, and not have them in another?"

On March 1, Brother Linger wrote to the CEO of Stagecoach, the parent company of Citybus Hong Kong, expressing serious concern about the problem of union recognition and collective bargaining. He described as "unacceptable" the fact that "... the company refuses to recognise the Trade Union and any form of collective bargaining. They have been offered a form of JCC [Joint Consultative Committee] but this is a consultative forum, where the company exercises a veto." Among many other issues raised, Brother Linger included photos to highlight the problem of inadequate and unhygienic toilet facilities for drivers: "... I have enclosed a picture of the drivers' rest room, and yet another picture of the drivers' toilet, which as you can see, is a cut down 5 litre oil container which they urinate into."

The visit marked ongoing cooperation between HKCTU's FTO and the ITF, and will continue to build bus drivers' global solidarity to challenge the power of transnational bus corporations.

Next> Union Action December 2001: Organising on the Road