McDonald’s has fired Hong Kong activist-artist Luke Ching, who called for the fast food giant to reinstate paying workers for their meal breaks, accusing him of leaking its internal operations.
Ching’s termination was effective starting Monday, according to a letter from MHK Restaurants, which operates Hong Kong’s McDonald’s branches, which was seen by HKFP.
Luke Ching in an Instagram post dated January 26, 2025. Photo: lukechinghk, via Instagram.
The Hong Kong activist was fired after he issued an open letter in Ming Pao on Sunday, calling for the fast food franchise to pay its workers for lunch hours.
Ching announced his job termination on the same day. In another Instagram post on Monday, he called McDonald’s to reinstate him as an employee.
The artist has worked at fast food chains and as an MTR cleaner, incorporating labour rights campaigns into his work. Ching’s projects have been frequently featured by major news outlets over the past decade.
McDonald’s Hong Kong abolished a policy providing employees with mealtime pay in 2009.
In the open letter addressed to Randy Lai, the CEO of McDonald’s Hong Kong, Ching said his average hourly pay of HK$45 actually amounted to HK$39.375, after one hour of wages was deducted.
“That is more than six cents under the current minimum wage, which is far below living standard,” he wrote in Chinese.
“You’ve worked at McDonald’s. You would know that many colleagues return to work after eating quickly or give up their breaks. These are choices that they are forced to make.”
Luke Ching works as a transit cleaner at Tai Wai train station on March 31, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
McDonald’s told local media that Ching had leaked internal operational and commercial information. He had been advised against doing so, and he was invited to meet with management, the company’s spokesperson said.
HKFP has reached out to McDonald’s for confirmation.
Without naming Ching, the spokesperson told local media a “part-time employee” had failed to make improvements and the company had no choice but to end his employment in accordance with the contract and the relevant compensation terms.
Those remarks were not made in the termination letter, the activist said.
“Even my termination letter didn’t provide the reason for why I was fired,” Ching wrote on Instagram, adding: “Please reinstate my employment. I know you are watching.”
Ching also said that he did not consider his first meeting with management a “warning” because the exchanges were “sincere.”
He also sent a message after the meeting to thank management and to ask that they understand their differences, the artist said.
