Periscope

As airlines cut costs in the face of the fierce competition, front-line staff have to put up with heavier workloads and frustrated customers. We talk to flight attendants and ground-handling workers about their working conditions.

The Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok opened to great fanfare in 1997 and topped world rankings for a number of years. But it lost its crown in 2011 with staff shortages and the saturation of facilities cited as some of the reasons for the decline.

In this issue of Periscope we look at three sectors that used to be known for their 'home-grown' productivity but have declined since their former heydays - agriculture, industry and film. These sectors are supposedly undergoing revivals but we ask if this is really the case and explore the challenges facing revitalisation.

In a bid to help promote local agriculture, the government announced a New Agricultural Policy in 2016 and plans to establish a new Agriculture Park in the North District a year later. But local farmers tell Varsity they are not convinced the new policies, which stress intensive farming and new technology, will help them.

Hong Kong used to be known for its manufacturing but most of its factories moved to the Mainland in the 1980s. Now, some are coming back and the government is trying to promote reindustrialisation to diversify the economy. Varsity looks at the challenges facing those who are trying to revive industry in Hong Kong.

The success of small budget local films such as "Ten Years" and "Mad World" in recent years has led to talk of a possible revival of Hong Kong movies, led by a new generation of independent filmmakers. But is this just wishful thinking in an industry now dominated by Hong Kong-mainland co-productions?

This issue of Periscope looks at the difficulties workers face in claiming compensation for industrial accidents, at the uphill struggle to improve workplace conditions and get recognition for work-related health problems in the service industry, and at attempts by freelancers and casual workers to form unions.

The number of deaths on Hong Kong's construction sites has bucked the overall downward trend in industrial accidents across sectors in Hong Kong. But labour groups say the real number of workers killed and maimed on the job is higher than the official statistics suggest - because employers hide workplace accidents to avoid costly compensation claims.

Many regulations on workplace safety and occupational diseases were drawn up when Hong Kong's economy was based on industry and manufacturing. Most workers are now employed in the service sector but activists say common work-related ailments in the service industries aren't properly acknowledged.

Permanent, stable employment is quickly becoming a thing of the past as businesses around the world increasingly hire freelancers and casual labour. For some young people, working as freelancers in the so-called gig economy promises flexibility and freedom but some are fast discovering the flipside of casual work arrangements and are beginning to unionise.