I think I will have to treat Ron with more respect. He reveals that he has a car with both Hong Kong and PRC plates. As far as I am aware, dual plates are only made available to the owners of businesses that have significant operations in China, so Ron must be a big cheese. Anyway, Ron recounts some of the problems he has dealing with his business partners, and it’s an interesting read.
Shaky was moaning about the impact of the falling US Dollar on his finances. He is paid in Hong Kong Dollars, but has to send some of that money back to the UK (presumably to pay his mortgage), and currently his salary converts into fewer Pounds Sterling than previously. My sympathy was rather limited, especially as any property he owns in the UK will have appreciated significantly in value over the last few years, and interest rates are still low. Then he hinted that he will be receiving a good bonus this year, and so my sympathy disappeared completely! He is considering buying a plasma TV. I remember when they first appeared in Hong Kong and cost about HK$100k, and although prices have been dropping ever since, they are still expensive (the cheapest ones are about HK$23k or thereabouts). There is also an issue with how long they last, and there was recently a report (from the Consumer Council?) about the consequential high cost of maintenance contracts.
Teachers from the English Schools Foundation were protesting on Thursday about the proposed pay cuts that were recently announced.
Tony Flynn, a Sha Tin College teacher said there was no valid reason for a pay cut, given the economic recovery. He added that overseas staff were already earning less because of foreign exchange fluctuations and ESF staff were now not paid much more than counterparts in Britain. “If you disenfranchise them, upset them and eradicate good will, the consequences will be enormous,” he added.
That’s a clever argument – because the ESF didn’t cut pay earlier, they don’t need to do it now. ESF teachers enjoyed increases in line with the civil service up until last year, but haven’t had the pay cuts that were imposed on civil servants. Given that the cost of living has fallen they are much better off. Then we get the same complaint we heard from Shaky, about the weak Dollar and strong Pound. I bet they weren’t complaining when the Dollar was strong and Sterling was weaker!
The ESF gets its money from the government (i.e. taxpayers) and the parents who send their children to its schools. This is not a business that makes profits, it’s an organization set up to run schools, funded by ordinary people who have (in most cases) seen their own salaries cut or lost their jobs. Why should teachers get special treatment?
Ordinary Gweilo 
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