600 staff 'forced to take pay cut'

More than 600 staff from two fashion chains have been forced to take a big pay cut, it was claimed yesterday.

Staff from the G2000 Group, which has more than 90 outlets of U2 and G2000, say they were told to sign an agreement which requested a salary deduction last month.

But staff complained to unions they were cheated and misled by the arrangement.

Ken Chan, a representative who has worked for U2 for seven years, said: 'We were asked to sign the letter and return it to the company within a few minutes. We were told to either sign the letter or leave the company.' Ms Chan's salary was cut from $10,500 to $8,700.

She said weeks afterwards, they heard six or seven staff who refused to sign the letters were legally entitled to full severance pay and other compensation.

She said it was a 'plot' to mislead staff because many would have chosen to leave if they had been given the choice.

Another affected staff member, Celia Ng, who has worked for five years, said working hours had been extended from 45 hours to 50 a week since April.