Hong Kong Bankers Join Call for Citywide Strike over Handling of Outcry over Extradition Bill 

Alvin Lum  reports: Hundreds of workers at 34 banks joined calls for a citywide strike next week against the government’s handling of recent unrest which has rocked Hong Kong.

The finance staff added their voices to an umbrella group of 95 unions from the public and private sectors behind the action planned for Monday.

The appeal from the pro-democracy Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) and staff from local banks, including international investment banks and Chinese state-owned banks, was also echoed by teachers and art groups.

Civil servants, meanwhile, got the go-ahead from police to host an unprecedented rally on Friday evening in Chater Garden to urge the government to respond to the demands of protesters against the now-abandoned extradition bill.

The idea of a strike was first floated weeks ago on an online forum, and has gained momentum after two protests that descended into clashes over which 44 people have been charged with rioting.

“To really allow the city to settle down, the government should establish an inquiry, which is not just about the police’s handing of protests, but the entire policymaking and decision-making process,” CTU chairwoman Carol Ng Man-yee said …. (read more)

Source: South China Morning Post