HONG KONG (UCAN): People working in the social welfare sector of Hong Kong joined a three-day strike beginning December 17 in Edinburgh Place, Central, to press the government into allowing them to work with anti-government protesters to ease tensions.
Some 1,000 people, including staff from Caritas-Hong Kong and other non-governmental agencies, the government’s Social Welfare Department, along with students of several social work training institutes, gathered outside City Hall at the start of the strike.
One Caritas employee, identifying himself only as Anthony, said the Hong Kong government had failed to listen to different sectors of society and that officials have “forgotten their duty as civil servants.”
He said the government had originally wanted social workers to provide better counselling and other remedial services when the protests started since June.
“But it refused to accept that the presence of social workers where clashes occurred. Social workers could have helped ease tensions,” he said.
“If the officials had played their role well and sought advice, many tragedies of the past six months could have been averted,” Anthony said.
Samuel Heung, a Catholic social worker working with young people, said that he wants to be part of the movement by helping those taking part in it, “especially those who are physically attacked, injured and spiritually troubled.”
He said the strike aimed to highlight the priority of their profession’s various concerns to the government and the general public.
He explained that social the social service sector served different groups with different needs, “But when the city’s environment and systems deprive us of our right to work, there is a greater need to demand justice, than (merely) rendering direct services as usual.”
A social worker, identifying himself only as Francis, said that the strike served as a chance for him to reflect on justice, which “is a core value of our profession.”
He wondered, “When we see the younger generation brave and risk their lives to fight for justice, what else could I do?”
The government deployed no police at the December 17 event. Anthony believes it shows that that law enforcers “trust our ability to put across our demands peacefully.”
He expressed hope that the government would consider their demand that they be allowed to try and ease conflicts in places where clashes occur.
On December 19, hundreds marched and submitted petitions at consular offices of eight consulates, including the European Union, Japan and Canada, calling for legislation similar to the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act recently enacted by the United States, the SCMP reported.
