Hong Kong construction firm accused of owing subcontractors HK$60 million for university accommodation project
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong construction company has been accused of owing HK$60 million to subcontractors working on a university student accommodation project, as workers mounted a protest to call for unpaid wages.
About 40 workers staged a protest on Monday morning at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where they were building a new student hostel, according to the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union.
Union chairperson Chau Sze-kit said 60 workers were owed wages for August and September, totalling HK$2 million.
Chau told HKFP by phone on Monday that the unpaid wages were due to the main contractor of the project, Paul Y. Engineering, having failed to pay about HK$60 million to its 12 sub-contractors.
“The sub-contractors did not receive money [from Paul Y] from [last] November to April, but they advanced the wages to workers using their own money,” Chau said in Cantonese.
Construction of the project was paused in May and June due to the arrears but had resumed in July, he added.
Chau also said that HKUST had appointed another contractor, Hip Hing Construction, to take over from September 17, citing a conversation with university representatives at the protest.
In an emailed reply to HKFP on Monday, HKUST said it had been “closely monitoring the situation with [Paul Y] since early this year” due to “rumors of delays… and complaints from Paul Y’s subcontractors about unpaid wages.”
HKUST said it had sought to provide assistance, including facilitating meetings between Paul Y and its subcontractors, and reaching out to the Development Bureau and the Labour Department, in efforts to resolve the disputes.
The university said it had coordinated a meeting between representatives of Paul Y and subcontractors following the protest on Monday.
“The university recognized the difficulties faced by the subcontractors but hopes that the incident will not disrupt normal university operations,” it said, adding that it would communicate with the government and provide assistance to subcontractors to ensure the student hostel project continued smoothly.
HKFP has reached out to Paul Y for comment.
Last month, steel supplier Golik launched legal action against Paul Y claiming over HK$10 million in arrears, according to local media reports.
Paul Y also faces a winding-up petition launched by a supplier, Koon Wah World (Chows), at the city’s High Court.
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