A pioneering collaboration between the TUC-WMCA Skills Partnership and the Hongkongers in Britain organisation is strengthening the support for immigrants from Hong Kong who have British National Overseas (BNO) status. 

On Saturday 17th September 2022 over fifty members of Britain’s Hongkonger community gathered in a small church in central Birmingham for a day of learning about workplace rights, trade unions and employment support.  

Matt Pointon of the Midlands TUC who led on the initiative explains,

It’s thanks to Dr Fuk Ying Tse and our colleagues at GFTU as they linked us up with the Hongkongers and we recognised a need for learning, employment support and an awareness of workplace rights that the TUC could help fill.

The event was supported by South & City College Trade Union Studies Department who provided the Know Your Rights At Work & Joining a Trade Union sessions and the National Careers Service who provided workshops on Getting a Job in the UK. There was also support in terms of materials from the WMCA, WEA, GMB, UNISON and Unite the Union. 

There was also a tasty lunch of traditional Hong Kong fayre provided by the Home Office’s BNO project, with a lengthy Q&A session afterwards. Feedback was positive all around with comments including:

Informative, helpful, thank you!

Thanks for all the efforts! Really appreciate it! Looking forward to joining more workshops in the future!

The information is very useful. Thank you all speakers!

Thanks for all the efforts! Enjoy life! Fight for freedom!

Wales TUC’s Stanley Ho, himself a Hongkonger, who supported the event commented,

This was a special and useful event for Hong Kong newcomers in the UK. It’s not only about right of joining union, or learning how to find a job, but also providing an essential platform for those new arrivals to learn with each other experiences about labour right in their mother language! There are around 100 Hongkongers in the Healthcare industry that will join a union. It is a good start for them to involve into the UK democratic civil society. I believe they will be active in their branches and try hard to amplify their workers’ voice around the country.

Tai Shing from the Hongkongers in Britain organisation added,

The workplace culture in the UK is very different from that in Hong Kong. Thanks to the introduction by the Trades Union Congress, South & City College and National Career Services, new arrivals from Hong Kong were presented with a clear picture of workers’ rights and workplace situation in the UK context.  The advice on job seeking is particularly helpful to those struggling to start a new chapter of their career in a different country. We are very grateful for the support from these partnering organisations in making this event such a success.

Moving forward, all parties are eager to continue the collaboration between the Hongkonger community and the trade union movement. A webinar with National Careers Service around finding work in the healthcare sector is being planned for October and the potential for holding other events around the country is being investigated.