In late 2019, as COVID-19 began spreading from Wuhan, senior medical figures in Hong Kong urged the government to introduce border controls and public health protections. The government, led by then Chief Executive Carrie Lam, dismissed these calls as “unrealistic”, arguing that restrictions would be discriminatory.
By February 2020, hospitals were under severe strain. Protective equipment was running short, and frontline staff faced mounting risk. In response, the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA), a newly formed healthcare workers’ union, called a five-day strike.
Thousands of doctors, nurses and hospital staff took part. Their demands were simple: border controls, adequate PPE, quarantine facilities, and basic protections for healthcare workers. The government refused to engage.
As the pandemic worsened, union members voted not to extend the strike, prioritising patient care over continued industrial action. The response from the authorities, however, was not reform, but retaliation.
After the introduction of Hong Kong’s National Security Law in mid-2020, the government launched a sweeping crackdown on civil society. Arrests followed in connection with pro-democracy primary elections, including that of Winnie Yu, chair of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA). Under growing political pressure, the union was forced to disband in 2022.
A Brief Opening for Union Organising
The HAEA was founded in December 2019, during a short period when new trade unions emerged in the wake of mass protests. During the pandemic, it became a crucial voice for frontline workers, raising concerns that the government refused to address.
From 3 to 7 February 2020, the union called on non-emergency staff to strike, not over pay or conditions, but to prevent the collapse of the healthcare system. As union leaders put it at the time: “If healthcare workers fall, who will protect patients?”
The strike marked Hong Kong’s first large-scale industrial action in the healthcare sector, involving more than 7,000 workers. While it did not secure immediate concessions, it exposed the extent of institutional failure and demonstrated the power of collective action when all other avenues were closed.
A Leader Imprisoned
Winnie Yu, a first-time union organiser, became the public face of the strike. She consistently stressed that healthcare workers were acting to protect patients, not abandon them.
In 2021, she was arrested and charged with “subversion of state power” under the National Security Law for taking part in a legislative primary election. She was later sentenced to 81 months in prison and is expected to remain incarcerated until 2028. Her appeal has been heard, with a ruling expected shortly.
An Unfinished Struggle
Six years on, the HAEA no longer exists, but the healthcare strike remains a defining moment in Hong Kong’s labour history.
Before dissolving, the union left a final message to the public:
“If we extinguish the spark within ourselves, all that remains is silence. But if we keep that spark alive and pass it on, even in darkness, we can still see one another.”
For trade unionists worldwide, Hong Kong’s healthcare strike is a reminder that the right to organise cannot be taken for granted and that international solidarity matters when unionists elsewhere are silenced.