Government relief figure is HK$2.3b short, unions say

Labour organisations call for HK$9,000 for each of about 700,000 who face unemployment

The government’s HK$4 billion in relief for businesses hit by the latest tightening of Covid-19 preventive measures is far less than what is needed, unions say.

At least HK$6.3 billion would be needed for the roughly 700,000 workers facing unemployment should the government maintain the tougher social-distancing rules, seven unions said in a joint appeal yesterday.

Under the new strategy to curb the spread of Omicon, 15 types of specified premises shut on Friday for two weeks, including bars, gyms, beauty parlours and cinemas. Restaurants must also stop dine-in service at 6pm.

The unions called for funding to provide each unemployed worker with HK$9,000, the same amount offered during previous rounds of wage assistance.

“We have 700,000 employees facing unemployment in this period. If each needs HK$9,000 from the government, they will need at least HK$6.3 billion in total,” said Dennis Leung TszWing of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and a lawmaker representing the labour sector.

Leung estimated the closures and restrictions and would cost businesses HK$1.4 billion over the 14-day period. “If the government does not [reverse social-distancing rules] after this period, then we ... think the problem would get more serious,” he said.

The funding revealed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuetngor yesterday is the fifth such round since the pandemic began in January 2020.

Leung also hoped workers would be allowed to apply for the money directly instead of having to rely on their employers to dispense the funds.

The city’s unemployment rate only recently bounced back, hitting 4.1 per cent in November after peaking at 7.2 per cent for the three months ending in February last year, the worst showing since 2004.

Hong Kong swung from recession to expansion last year, with real GDP growing by 7 per cent in the first three quarters compared with a year earlier.

But that broad recovery is now threatened by the Omicron outbreak. Several industry representatives urged the government to allow them to resume operations as soon as possible.

Amy Hui, chairwoman of the Beauty and Fitness Professionals General Union, said businesses in her sector were willing to comply with earlier closing times and follow rules for a vaccine bubble, which will require people entering many premises to have received at least one shot, slated to take effect on February 24.

The Licensed Bar and Club Association of Hong Kong expressed support for the latest round of subsidies but urged the government to let them resume business as soon as possible.

“Every employee in the entire industry and the family behind each employee are suffering together,” charter president Ben Leung Lap-yan said.

The Motor Transport Workers General Union also suggested the government direct the funds to drivers and employees in the transport industry.

Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, the lawmaker representing the 16,000-member catering sector and a top adviser to Lam, suggested that subsidies should be provided to restaurants and workers in closed premises.