A labour rights group for delivery workers has ceased operations after local media reported that Hong Kong lawmakers had been cautioned against discussing platform workers’ rights.
Without providing a reason, the Riders’ Rights Concern Group announced on Monday evening that it would cease operations effective immediately. The posts appeared on Facebook and Instagram before their social media pages became inaccessible.
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The labour group is part of the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, a non-government pressure group.
The announcement came just days after an opinion piece in the Hong Kong Economic Journal suggesting that lawmakers had been warned not to discuss four issues, including delivery workers’ rights.
It is unclear whether the warnings came from the local authorities. HKFP has reached out to the government for comment.
The concern group has campaigned for delivery workers’ rights and lobbied for strengthened legal protections since 2021.
The concern group supported foodpanda strikes over wage cuts in 2022 and assisted workers for the delivery company Zeek after it shut down in 2023. It also warned of further exploitation in the industry after UK food delivery company Deliveroo announced its exit from the Hong Kong market in March.
Some lawmakers in the city’s opposition-free legislature, including Lam Chun-sing, chair of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, have called for the creation of a third legal category recognising the hybrid status of delivery workers.
Following strikes by delivery workers earlier this year, labour and welfare chief Chris Sun last month told lawmakers that the Hong Kong government will introduce a proposal this year to enhance the rights and benefits of digital platform workers.
Couriers for Keeta have been staging a series of protests across Hong Kong since late April demanding better treatment from the delivery platform.
