More than 100 aircraft maintenance trainees from the mainland are seeking help from the Labour Department to recover wages they claim are owed to them by Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co (Haeco) under a two-year training programme.
Lawmaker Ip Wai-ming, a representative of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions who is helping the trainees, said the government had a responsibility to look into the matter.
But a Labour Department spokesman said that according to the contracts the trainees signed, they did not have an employee-employer relationship with Haeco.
'The Labour Department is in touch with relevant parties, including the Immigration Department, the union and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited, to seek more understanding of the incident,' the spokesman said. The training programme between Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering Co (Taeco) and Haeco has been halted as a result of the dispute.
Taeco management representatives said they met 31 trainees yesterday but were arranging for all 142 trainees to return to Xiamen, where it is hoped the matter can be resolved.
The dispute revolves around accusations that the trainees were being used as cheap labour by Haeco.