We are all familiar with strikes. Sometimes a strike will take a few days to resolve – sometimes much longer. In Hong Kong’s Hongkong International Terminals port, a strike has stalled global business and commerce since March 28th of this year.
Due to the strike, some cargo ships face delays upwards of 60 hours (whereas a typical wait time might only take about three hours). The delays have a vast global impact in the supply chain as costs increase due to ships being forced to reroute to nearby ports (in Guangdong, China or Kaohsiung, Taiwan) or coerced into skipping subsequent destination ports.
Although immediate commerce has been affected by the strike, the mere presence of a strike in the Hong Kong port is bound to take a toll on the economy in the long run. Hong Kong’s unions are historically not as effective at negotiations (in comparison to American labor unions for example), so resolution of a strike like this may take an exorbitant amount of time.
With that in mind, the perspective of the workers on strike is also understandable. The rising cost of living in Hong Kong and the widening income gap has led to unrest from the working class. Workers take to the streets and protest several times a year to raise awareness of this problem and to pursue a solution. The workers on strike at the port lament the long hours and low wages. Port workers make 55 HKD per hour (the equivalent of $7 USD) and are hoping to negotiate a wage increase of at least 20%.
What do you think about the strike situation in HK? Voice your thoughts in the comments section below.
It’s hard to take on “Superman” Li. The striking workers are about 12% of the workforce. They do not have much leverage in numbers. The striking workers are contractors and not directly working for HIT. HIT hires other contractors to fill their place. That’s what they have done and the replacement workers reduced ship wait times from 60 hours to around 20 hours. One of the contractors went out of business, so those workers are out of luck. Li owns or have ownership in other harbors around the area, where the ships are diverted, so he won’t be losing much. How to win when Li holds all the cards?
@HKecon – Thanks for adding your insight! The strike in HK is definitely much more complicated than the media leads us to believe, and the plethora of factors involved will likely make it difficult to reach a solution that’s acceptable for all parties.