Hong Kong artist, labour rights advocate fired from McDonald’s after calling for mealtime pay

Luke Ching Chin-wai, 53, who had worked as a janitor at the Fortune Plaza Arcade outlet in Tai Po for six months, said his contract was abruptly terminated last Friday.

Although the dismissal letter did not cite a reason for his termination, management had previously told him he had breached the company’s social media guidelines.

“The company hopes that employees will express their opinions through the company’s channels and not post them on Instagram or other social media platforms,” said Ching.

“I feel that I am not just an employee; I am an individual with my own identity. I believe workers have the right to share or speak out about their situations to the outside world,” he added.

Why Hongkonger Luke Ching’s latest work of art is his job at McDonald’s

A week earlier, Ching had penned an open letter to the company’s management and local newspaper Ming Pao, urging the fast food chain to reconsider its policy of not paying employees for mealtimes, a practice abolished in 2009.

He explained that deducting an hour’s pay for mealtime during an eight-hour shift effectively reduced the hourly wage from HK$45 to HK$39.38 – 60 cents below the minimum wage.

Known for taking on blue-collar jobs as part of his art to explore Hong Kong’s social issues and advocate for workers’ rights, Ching is active on social media, using his platform of about 21,800 Instagram followers to share insights into workplace conditions – often with an artistic perspective.

Ching said he aims to inspire meaningful changes that improve the livelihoods of vulnerable employees.

In a reply to the South China Morning Post, McDonald’s Hong Kong said a part-time employee, whom it did not name, had repeatedly violated company policies by sharing internal operational and commercial information on public platforms during his employment.

Ching, however, said he had only made two posts on social media before his dismissal.

One featured a song by local indie band My Little Airport, for which he rewrote the lyrics to highlight the issue of mealtime pay. The other was a reflection on his experiences as a labourer and a plea for the company’s management to “soften their hearts”.

Before his job at the fast-food chain, Ching worked for the MTR Corporation as a cleaner, calling for better pay for minimum-wage workers.

He has previously worked at Qiandama and is currently a cleaner at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Ching had recently met with McDonald’s senior management to discuss his social media activity related to the company’s practices.

“During our conversation, everyone was very polite – the atmosphere was actually quite good. We exchanged ideas, and they had seen the issues I raised on Instagram. They seemed to understand my point about mealtime pay,” Ching said.

“They also seemed to find my willingness to engage with labour issues and work alongside other employees quite meaningful.”

Ching said he was “shocked” to learn he had been dismissed just two days later. He was given a cheque covering seven days’ notice and one day’s pay but chose not to accept it.

Hong Kong artist Luke Ching’s creative advocacy for MTR cleaners

“I think the decision was unnecessary,” Ching said. “When I first came to McDonald’s, one of the most important aspects of my role was to propose changes. I’m deeply disappointed that they chose to sever that role. I don’t believe this has been the CEO’s usual management approach.”

“Our work should be a collaborative process of generating meaning with our employers. You can’t just cut that off simply because you don’t like the meaning we’re creating,” he explained.

“McDonald’s greatest strength has been the sense of mutual understanding shared within its restaurants,” Ching added. “Everyone can use McDonald’s, and we don’t rely on unequal power to exclude people just because we don’t like them. Even if there’s dislike, power shouldn’t be used disproportionately to remove them.”

Ching said he plans to request reinstatement of his job and will push to restore the pre-2009 mealtime pay policy.

“Since the 1990s, when I started working in labour services, I’ve realised that many employers violate labour rights – and that’s something I’ve always sought to address.”