Workers stage protest to demand wages owed by contractor involved in Tai Po fire

A group of construction workers have staged a demonstration at an upscale residential estate undergoing renovation in Hong Kong to demand that the contractor involved in the deadly Tai Po fire settle their unpaid wages, with two climbing up the erected scaffolding as part of the protest.About 15 workers on Wednesday held banners and chanted slogans outside Baguio Villa in Pok Fu Lam at around 9am. The Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union said Prestige Construction & Engineering Co Limited owed them several months’ salary amounting to millions of dollars.In a video sent to the Post by the union, two workers are seen climbing up the scaffolding at Baguio Villa. One of them ascends to the seventh floor, while the other positions himself on the second floor.Police received calls to investigate and said the incident did not affect traffic.The Fire Services Department deployed personnel to the scene after receiving a report of two workers located in dangerous positions who could potentially jump. Officers set up a rescue cushion beneath the scaffolding as a precaution.Fire Services Department officers set up a rescue cushion beneath the scaffolding at Baguio Villa on Wednesday. Photo: Elson LiPrestige was the contractor involved in the renovation project at Wang Fuk Court, a subsidised housing estate hit by a catastrophic fire that killed 168 people last November.