Monday, October 20, 2014, 08:46

By Chitralekha Basu and Frannie Guan

Writer-photographer duo Nicole Chabot and Michael Perini turn their gaze on a myriad range of people who work outdoors to earn their keep in Street Life Hong Kong. Chitralekha Basu and Frannie Guan re-visited two of the 24 personalities featured in the book.

Tony Tam, 62, assistant foreman, construction

Tony Tam, assistant foreman

Over breakfast at KFC on a Sunday morning, Tony Tam Kwok-chiu was browsing the photographs in Nicole Chabot’s book, Street Life Hong Kong. He is one of the people featured in it. “I look old in this photo,” said Tony, taking a sip after his wife stirred sugar into his coffee, “but Michael Perini (the photographer) was a professional. He shot really good photos for the book.”

Tam is seen wearing a pair of sunglasses in the photo. Five years ago sunglasses became a necessity at work for Tam. His wife said Tam’s eyes would water as he worked eight-hour days, most spent standing under the glare of the sun.

Tam is 64 and still going strong. He has worked in the construction industry for almost 30 years and has no plan to retire yet. “I hope to work until 70-something because I have gotten used to my job. Besides, staying at home all the time will be boring,” said Tam.

Tam’s wife is proud to have her husband featured in Chabot’s book, but even more so that he is the backbone of the family. And yet it was not she but Victor Fan, a 29-year-old engineer working on the same project as Tam, who got the first look at the book when it arrived.

“He asked ‘why did the author pick you and not me?’” said Tam, who shares a great rapport with his young colleague. Fan, Tam said, was a thoroughbred professional when it came to technical issues like drawing but all the same he had to turn to Tam to find out about the most effective way of executing his designs. The two often have their meals together after work.

Work set-ups have gotten more professional in the last 20 years — a change Tam has been witness to. Earlier workers did not take deadlines very seriously, but now they have to, given that construction companies must pay heavy penalties as high as HK$ 500,000 per day, even if they overshoot the deadline by a measly two days. Tam’s work as an assistant foreman is therefore crucial. He ensures the smooth progress of any project, without compromising on quality.

His two sons, now 31 and 35, graduated with engineering-related majors. “We did not dictate what they learned in college or the jobs they took up,” said Tam. His elder son remained in industry while the other became a cram school teacher.

Watching TV and betting on horses are the two things Tam likes to do after work. He kept looking at his watch during our interview, ready to rush back home when it was over.

Chu Yin-ping, 61, sampan tour guide