Opportunists the loser

The dock workers confirmed acceptance of the 9.8 percent pay rise offered by contractors has paved the way for ending the protracted strike, a welcome move not only for the parties involved, but the whole of Hong Kong society.

The settlement to the city's longest ever industrial action will hopefully relieve the trading and logistics industry, one of the four pillar industries of Hong Kong. It has also spared the local economy from looming disaster.

The 40-day dockers' strike has not only forced dozens of cargo vessels to divert to other ports but also threatened the competitiveness of Hong Kong ports. Shippers' confidence in the supremacy of the service quality of the city's ports has faded with the extension of industrial action, and any further delay would have caused permanent damage to the trading and logistics industry as well as the economy.

The settlement came after both sides made concessions in their demands amid the labor department's active intervention. This once again proves that compromise is the only resolution to any difference.

A settlement would have been achieved much earlier were it not for the fact that the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) and its mastermind Lee Cheuk-yan have been standing on the sidelines inciting hostile sentiment among strikers and setting demanding conditions that derailed negotiations from the outset.

From the beginning of the industrial action, this political old hand and his pet organization have hijacked all sense in pursuit of personal political gain at the expense of society's best interests.

The settlement of the labor dispute is in the interest of all stakeholders and Hong Kong as a whole. Radical politicians and opportunists are the only losers as the extended strike has exposed their wicked motivations and endeavors, which are likely to attract a backlash from the workers.

(HK Edition 05/07/2013 page1)