Shangri-La boss loses $bill project

Date: 12 April 2001

HK-based billionaire, Robert Kuok - the owner of the Shangri-La hotel and resort chain - has lost out on a nearly $2 billion dollar tender to build an upmarket hotel, apartment blocks, offices, shops, restaurants and cafes on a prime real estate site in Melbourne.

The decision comes following an intensive union campaign against Mr Kuok's company because of a three month lock out of hotel workers at his Shangri-La hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Australian construction unions, as an act of solidarity with the hotel workers, had threatened bans if Mr Kuok's company won the project.

The LHMU hotel union joined other unionists from around the world in an international campaign which involved letter-writing and demonstrations in cities around the world.

The NSW Labor Council - along with hotel workers and other unionists - organised a protest in downtown Sydney to back the Jakarta workers.

Just this week hotel workers in Seoul and Brussels have protested outside Indonesian consulates and Shangri-La outlets to show support for the workers who have been subjected to intimidation and violence.

The construction workers in Melbourne told the State Government there they would not work co-operatively with the Shangri-La group if they won the project because of the continuing dispute in Jakarta.

Victorian unions, backed by the ACTU, lobbied strongly to stop Mr Kuok winning the tender.

Robert Kuok is one of the wealthiest men in the world. He is regularly listed by Forbes magazine in its Top 200 Rich list.

Mr Kuok, who is originally from Malaysia, is also reputed to be one of the most influential Overseas Born Chinese businessmen among the top cadres in Beijing.

His Shangri-La hotel and resort chain runs about 40 upmarket luxury hotels throughout Asia and the Pacific.

The Premier of Victoria, Mr Steve Bracks, announced that the State Government had awarded the $2 billion, 15 year construction project on the Docklands Victoria Harbour site to Mr Kuok's major competitor - the international developer Lend Lease.

Lend Lease has a reputation of working co-operatively with the Australian union movement.

The massive project, worth almost $2 billion, will include 2100 apartments, a hotel, offices, shops, restaurants, cafes and parkland.

The project - which is being touted as the biggest construction project in the Southern Hemisphere - will create several thousand jobs.

At this stage there has been no comment from the State Government as to why Mr Kuok lost out on this important tender- and whether the union campaign had anything to do with the final result.

The LHMU got involved in the campaign at the request of the hotel unions' international - the IUF - who have co-ordinated the world-wide support for Mr Kuok's workers.

The campaign in defence of the Shangri-La Jakarta workers has received the support of hotel unions in Korea, HK, Canada, the USA, Europe, as well as Australia.

For further information about the campaign and its international support click here to visit the LabourStart Shangri-La solidarity page

For further information

Contact:	Andrew Casey
Union:	Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union
Phone:	8204 7206
Fax:	92821 4480
Email:	andrewc@lhmu.org.au
WWW:	http://www.lhmu.org.au/

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