21.   Barclays said the new pay structure was put in place after five months of negotiations with the unions and any further changes were not necessary.

22.   Firms have pledged to avoid compulsory redundancies, and workers whose jobs are transferred to a private company will retain their current pay structures and benefits.

23.   Mr Lam said the Civil Service Bureau was open to new ideas on pay structure.

24.   One of them is expected to set new pay structures and rules on military education, promotion, training and benefits.

25.   The Banking Insurance and Finance Union and another union called UNiFI are protesting a new pay structure imposed by Barclays.

26.   The pay structure for commercials is at issue in the strike.

27.   The strike centers on the pay structure for commercials.

28.   The teachers also want the establishment of a wage negotiation committee and the approval of a separate pay structure that will guarantee automatic salary hikes for teachers every year.

29.   The unions said they will stage more walkouts later, but Barclays says it has no intention of negotiating a new pay structure.

30.   The unions say a new pay structure imposed by Barclays freezes the salaries of most of their members.