New report by Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor (HKLRM) reveals a hollowing out of trade unions, with 160,000 members lost and an influx of 120,000 imported workers stripping local bargaining power.
On the eve of International Labour Day, the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor (HKLRM) has released its annual report, The State of Labour in Hong Kong 2025. The report warns of a “structural collapse” in workers’ rights as the city’s trade unions are strangled by the dual pressure of the National Security Law and draconian amendments to the Trade Unions Ordinance.
The report details how the political purging of unions has evolved into a form of “asphyxiating control” through the institutionalisation of national security measures. Authorities are now deploying “administrative warfare” including public warnings, the sudden cancellation of venue bookings, arbitrary tax audits, and the stripping of professional licences to precision-strike independent unions and their organisers. This climate of fear has led to the “fragmentation” of the movement into ineffective “micro-unions,” with over 30% of groups now reporting single-digit membership, effectively fracturing their collective bargaining power.
Simultaneously, with independent oversight gutted, labour policy has tilted heavily in favour of employers’ interests. A radical push for “imported labour” has seen 120,000 foreign workers flood into grassroots roles, decimating the bargaining leverage of local staff. Caught between political repression and economic marginalisation, Hong Kong’s labour movement is being pushed to the brink of extinction.
The ‘Numerical Illusion’ of Union Growth
The report systematically dismantles claims by Hong Kong officials at international forums, such as the United Nations, that an increase in the number of unions suggests a thriving civil society. While the total number of unions rose 55% between 2019 and 2024, the report dismisses this as a “statistical mirage”.
The reality is an “avalanche-like” collapse in actual membership, which has plummeted from over 930,000 to approximately 769,000, a loss of 160,000 members, or more than one-sixth of the total unionised workforce. This does not yet account for the 2026 dissolution of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union (HKPTU), which once boasted nearly 100,000 members.
Fragmentation is reaching extreme levels: “micro-unions” with 50 or fewer members have nearly tripled, surging from 287 in 2019 to 769 by 2024. By 2024, some 376 unions reported memberships in the “single digits,” representing a staggering 26.6% (nearly 30%) of the city’s total, a trend HKLRM describes as the deliberate disintegration of the labour movement rather than its expansion.
Imported Labour: 120,000 Workers Erode Local Leverage
Following the forced collapse of major independent unions, labour policies have become increasingly “out of touch” with the needs of the local workforce. The Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS), launched in 2023, lifted restrictions on 26 low-skill roles, such as waiters, shop assistants, and warehouse staff. By the end of 2025, over 96,000 quotas had been approved, with 60% in roles previously reserved for local workers.
This influx has caused structural damage to the employment landscape. In the hospitality and catering sectors, one in six employees is now an imported worker. Since the scheme’s inception, over 47,000 local workers (18.3%) have been displaced. Consequently, unemployment in these sectors has risen by nearly 60% compared to two years ago, while job vacancies have been cut in half. Wage growth has also stalled at 3.3%, down from 5.4%, as the flood of cheap labour strips local workers of their ability to negotiate.
Conglomerate Interests Over Grassroots Dignity
The report is scathing of pro-establishment unions for their failure to protect workers in the Legislative Council. A recent revision of the “Continuous Contract” (418) threshold to “468” was described as a token gesture, benefiting just 11,000 employees, a mere 5.6% of those excluded, leaving 190,000 part-time staff as “second-class” workers.
The statutory minimum wage policy is equally skewed. A new “annual review” mechanism caps wage increases based on GDP performance. HKLRM analysis shows that a three-person household with two full-time minimum wage earners would earn roughly HK$14,600 per month, HK$1,800 less than the 2025 social security poverty line for a similar family.
Administrative Warfare: National Security as Red Tape
The report highlights a shift from high-profile arrests to “administrative strangulation.” By the end of 2025, at least 15 trade unionists had been arrested or charged. New powers allow the government to enter union offices and seize membership lists without a warrant, effectively putting activists under “24/7 surveillance.”
Administrative tactics include the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) being warned and denied venue rentals, and labour activists—both local and exiled—facing arbitrary tax demands. Even non-political groups, such as the ” Riders’ Rights Concern Group ” and “China Labour Bulletin,” have ceased operations under this “stifling administrative control.”
Defiance in the Face of Repression
Despite the hostile climate, 2025 saw a remarkable resilience among the workforce. The report documents several spontaneous wildcat strikes and protests:
- KeeTa Delivery Strikes: Multiple actions against unilateral pay cuts.
- HKBU Cleaners’ Sit-in: Protests by outsourced staff over working conditions.
- Coca-Cola Staff Strike: Collective action following the unfair dismissal of a driver.
HKLRM concludes that these actions are a testament to the unbroken courage of Hong Kong’s workers. Even under the shadow of “red lines” and extreme political pressure, the spirit of resistance cannot be entirely extinguished.