While at work, a British blasting specialist was reportedly being called out of names. Particularly, he was dubbed "gweilo" and was even excluded when he was hired on a Hong Kong tunnel project.
In a report from the South China Morning Post, the aforementioned specialist is Francis William Haden. He claimed that the company Leighton Contractors (Asia) did not allow him to hire specialists from Australia, despite the city having a shortage of individuals with the skill.
The publication said that this was due to the partnering company on the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin tunnel project being firmed on having no non-Chinese workers involved. Haden has reportedly filed a discrimination lawsuit against his former employer.
He filed the equal opportunities action against the company on Tuesday, asking the District Court to declare that the firm's conduct had directly violated the Race Discrimination Ordinance. He cited his dismissal on February 28 last year as being the number one proof.
Haden is an Australian citizen and is seeking damages as well as a written apology from the aforementioned company. He even demands that it put in place anti-discrimination training for staff.
"The claimant was made to feel unwelcome and frozen-out because he was not Chinese," said the writ filed by Oldham, Li & Nie Solicitors on his behalf.
The court document, which was made available to the press on Wednesday, said that Haden started working for Leighton in 2010. He was basically assigned for the role of blasting manager in the tunnel project, which is expected to be completed in mid-2021. Apparently, the project was contracted to Leighton and China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) in what seems to be a joint venture.
Since the beginning of the project, there had been a "general, underlying hostility towards non-Chinese employees", the court filing said.
"On a number of occasions, the claimant heard references to himself and other non-Chinese working on the project as being 'gweilo' in a derogatory sense," the writ added.
"Gweilo," which is pronounced gwhy-low, literally means "ghost man." It is a Cantonese slang term for a foreigner.
Workers from China State Construction Engineering would often question why there are many gweilos working on the project, The Star Online reports.
Haden was also having difficulty looking for blasting supervisors from the local talent pool; hence, he decided to recommend two from his country Australia. Unfortunately, his suggestion was denied, with the director citing work permit as the main problem. However, Haden explained that one of the engineers on the team was from mainland China, and also required a work permit.
