Next story Internet chat rooms are being used by an increasing number of workers to air grievances, often turning cyberspace into a battleground between staff and management. Company secrets or new policies that have not been officially announced are being leaked to outsiders in chat rooms and frequently become news headlines, while some bosses use chat rooms for public relations purposes in labour disputes. Many local companies are still operated in a traditional, authoritarian style.
Many workers use the Internet to speak out about inequalities such as pay cuts or lay-offs.
Fellow university management professor Fu Pingping agreed, saying the traditional Chinese management style created barriers to communication while chat rooms offered anonymity. Some public doctors have used their Web site to call on Medical Council chairman Dr Lee Kin-hung to resign. He was criticised for not defending the profession after the council's controversial ruling in April to clear Queen Mary Hospital doctor Tung Hiu-ming for using a mobile phone during an operation in March 1999. Cathay pilots are currently using an international pilots' Web site to present a united front against a management proposal that reportedly penalises those who take too much sick leave. Ma On Shan school based on an anonymous tip-off in an Internet chat room.