Hong Kong artist laments ‘unreasonable’ sacking by McDonald’s

Luke Ching, a former part-time janitor at an outlet in Tai Po, says he has difficulty filing a complaint without a formal contract

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A Hong Kong artist known for advocating for labour rights has been sacked by McDonald’s for allegedly disclosing confidential information. Photo: Facebook

Published: 6:00pm, 27 Jan 2025Updated: 8:44pm, 27 Jan 2025

A Hong Kong artist known for advocating labour rights has said McDonald’s was “unreasonable” in sacking him for having publicly shared internal operational and commercial information, adding that he found it difficult to file a complaint without a proper contract.

Luke Ching Chin-wai, a former part-time janitor at a McDonald’s outlet in Fortune Plaza Arcade in Tai Po, told the Post his story on Monday, a day after the fast-food chain informed him of his termination.

McDonald’s Hong Kong had said an unnamed part-time worker repeatedly violated its policies by sharing internal operational and commercial information on public platforms throughout the six months of his employment.

Ching, 53, explained that senior management had met him last week and told him that his social media post revealing his branch’s revenue of more than HK$100,000 (US$12,800) in one morning was a breach of internal confidentiality.

Ching had promised not to post anything deemed sensitive again. In the past week, he had made two social media posts, including a video calling for mealtime pay and a letter to McDonald’s management to share his experiences.

“The sacking is unreasonable. I understand that the management are nervous when an employee voices an opinion, but they have used the wrong way to deal with it,” Ching said. “They should have faced the problem of mealtime pay.”