Red flags go up at Hong Kong beaches as lifeguards go on strike to protest manpower shortage
Lifesaving services suspended at Butterfly Beach in Tuen Mun, Silverstrand Beach and Hap Mun Bay Beach in Sai Kung until further notice
Red flags have been hoisted at three beaches in Hong Kong as more than 40 lifeguards across the city went on strike.
At 9.10am on Thursday, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced that lifesaving services had been suspended at Butterfly Beach in Tuen Mun, Silverstrand Beach and Hap Mun Bay Beach in Sai Kung until further notice because of an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty.
The lifeguards were protesting what they called a chronic shortage of manpower at beaches across the city.
Alex Kwok Siu-kit, spokesman for the Hong Kong and Kowloon Life Guard's Union, which organised the strike, said lifeguards in the city had repeatedly raised their concerns over manpower shortages at beaches and their poor career prospects to LCSD, but to no avail.
“We estimate there is now a shortage of 200 lifeguards at beaches across the city,” Kwok said. “This creates pressure on us when we are on duty, and our colleagues have difficulty taking days off.”
Kwok, 50, a beach lifeguard in Hong Kong since 1999, said his monthly wage then was HK$11,000. It has now reached a cap of HK$17,000.
He said the stagnation of wages and difficulty in securing a permanent contract caused many young people to turn away from the occupation and instead seek better-paid jobs in the fire services or the police force.
At Butterfly Beach in Tuen Mun, all of its 28 lifeguards went on strike and staged a sit-in protest at the beach.
Despite the red flag being hoisted and messages being broadcast to advise beachgoers not to enter the water because of a shortage of lifeguards, members of the public were still seen swimming.
Dennis Tam, 52, a regular visitor at Butterfly Beach, said he was not deterred by the lack of lifeguards on duty.
I am not worried. We will stay only at the edge of the beach and will not go too far into the sea.
“I swim here very often, so it’s fine,” he said.
Tam said he had not noticed a shortage of lifeguards on other days, and added that the lifeguards should not strike on Thursday, as it was the Tuen Ng Festival holiday.
“Striking today is not good. There are still many kids on the beach,” he said.
Raymond Chow, 50, brought his son to the beach despite the red flag.
“I am not worried. We will stay only at the edge of the beach and will not go too far into the sea,” Chow said.
Although he had not noticed a shortage of lifeguards at the beach on other days, Chow said he would support their fight for reasonable treatment.
Katherine Brady, a mother of three boys who enjoys going to Hup Mun Beach, said the strike might put some tourists at risk.
“But I would definitely support them if they are striking for equal working privilege and days off,” she said, adding that the government should have better communication with residents as they had no knowledge of the strike.
Ann Choi, who was at Hup Mun Beach with her 10-month-old girl, said: “I think their striking showed little consideration for the swimmers’ safety, especially on a popular holiday like today.”
Last year, the monthly starting salary for lifeguards was increased to HK$14,115 for those at pools and HK$14,815 for those working on beaches, from an across-the-board HK$13,480.
According to the department, it hired 1,218 civil service lifeguards and 636 seasonal lifeguards up to May 1. It said it had over 40 vacancies for full-time seasonal lifeguards.
