Striking lifeguards resume work today, ID continues contract with company

One of the lifeguards speaks to the press, accompanied by Sulu Sou (left)

A group of lifeguards who have been on strike since the weekend will resume work today under conditions set out by the relevant authorities.

Yesterday, the group met with the Sports Bureau (ID), Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) and their employer, Surf Hong Company, in a bid to solve the controversial matter regarding unfair work treatment.

ID, who is in charge of the swimming pools in the city and acquires lifeguards from Surf Hong, said that the lifeguards’ working hours are requested in employee contracts.

“We requested their working hours in the contract. Regarding whether the company violated [any labor laws], we have to wait until DSAL completes an investigation,” said Christine Lam, vice president of ID.

DSAL will commence an investigation into the company’s alleged unjust working treatments on Monday.

When asked whether the bureau intends to end its contract with the local company, Lam said that the four parties’ priority is to resume the pools’ operation normally.

Since the exploitation of these migrant workers has caused criticism, Lam was questioned on whether the government bureau would renew its contract with the company in the future, to which Lam replied, “each public tender has its requirements and we consider the company’s service quality.”

“Our swimming pool management services and lifeguard services are all done through public tenders, and the public tender was done according to the law,” Lam explained.

“No matter which company is bidding for the tender, we use the same standards to see their bid,” she added.

Lam also notes that the service the company provides is according to the signed contract, yet no updates were given on whether or not the bureau will continue to outsource from the same company in future.

Meanwhile, DSAL pledged to analyze the pending documents to confirm further action towards both the employer and employees.

“We are waiting for complete documents [from Surf Hong] for revision and then we will analyze the situation,” said a representative from the bureau, Cheong Sok Kuan.

“We are warning the company that they cannot keep documents from the workers and we are checking if there is some illegality in their procedures.”

The group, who were mostly workers from mainland China, recently complained that the company they work for failed to provide copies of contracts, monthly pay slips, and that no annual leave nor days off had been given since March 15.

They also criticized the company for not paying overtime in a proper manner.

Representative of Surf Hong, Victor Wong, told the press yesterday that the company did not deprive them of their holidays and did not force them to sign an agreement to work overtime, contrary to the statements made by the 24 lifeguards.

Wong added that the workload during summer vacation is larger compared to non-peak season.

“We follow the Labor Law to calculate their holidays, weekend, annual leave and sick leave. We have also explained to them about their right for holidays. It might be some misunderstanding,” Wong argued.

When questioned by the press on whether or not it was lawful to oblige some eight to nine lifeguards to stay at the swimming pools, Wong said, “we have never arranged for them to stay post-work. We have one security [guard], and a technician stay at post.”

Although Wong pledged that no lifeguards would be fired after the incident, the group lamented that the company also withheld their professional lifeguard licenses – another matter that lawmaker Sulu Sou will follow up this week.

According to the lifeguards, the company is asking them to pay RMB2,000 to get their licenses back – something the company also denied.

“The company retained [some] of the professional lifeguard licenses,” stated one of the lifeguards, who recounted the unfair treatment of their employer to the press, contrary to what their employer stated.

“I will follow this case and will also help them report to labor soon,” said Sou.

According to Sou, who was also in yesterday’s meeting, the pool operator pledged to submit working records of the employees in the recent year, along with their pay slips before next Friday.

However, the lawmaker said that the compensation the company owes to these workers would still take more time.

“This part is quite difficult and it will take more time because they have to assess the record and make calculations for the compensation,” said Sou.

“They [Surf Hong] should take these legal obligations seriously,” he added.

According to a notice published by the Official Gazette, Surf Hong received over MOP12 million to operate pool lifeguard services from 2009 to 2011.

Operation hours of some swimming pools altered

No date has been set for the reopening of the Cheok Van Beach and Sun Iat Sen swimming pools, yet some public pools have changed their operation hours due to the complaints of the lifeguards who were on strike.  The Taipa Central Park pool changed its schedule to open from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., while the Hac Sa Park swimming pool is currently open between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.  The Carmo outdoor swimming pool is closed. The Carmo indoor swimming pool opens on Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. on other days. Asked when pools will resume their ordinary operation, the Sports Bureau (ID) said that it depends on the lifeguards’ employer, and that the schedule will be announced later. ID claims, however, to resume the pools’ operation as soon as possible.