#LabourUnion #Economy
Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Union receives numerous unemployment assistance requests

Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Union (HKCTU) chairman, Carol Ng pointed out that HKCTU received numerous requests for assistance in the past few months because the government has failed to assist them through the 81 billion HKD employment subsidy. Some employers used fake identities to get the subsidies, while some even fired their own employees in order to get the subsidy.

HKCTU received 47 cases, of which 28% were employees forced to take no-pay leave, 19% reported that their companies fired them after getting the subsidy, 15% were changed from monthly paid to daily paid, 11% had their salaries reduced, and 11% had decreased working hours. 20% of the employees agreed that the employment subsidy cannot help workers at all.

HKCTU committee member Wong Yu-loi pointed out that there were 5 major loopholes in this scheme. First, the government has failed to regulate the allocation of the subsidy, causing the management level to benefit the most, while workers of lower ranks cannot get the help they need.

Retail, Commerce and Clothing Industries General Union director Cheung Lai-ha also said that many corporations asked theur employees to go on no-pay leave or to change their employment terms to an hourly basis after they received the subsidy. She suspected that these companies just want to get more subsidies from the headcount, but these employees are only allowed to work for a few days, causing them to be paid less as a whole.

Source: Stand news
#Jul9 #employmentsubsidy #HKCTU

#PoliticalDiscrimination #Censorship
HK Government Fires #CivilServant for Not Signing Allegiance Oath

Mr. Wu had been a civil servant in Hong Kong for over 30 years serving the governments before and after the handover. He was recently fired for not signing the government-required oath indicating his allegiance to Hong Kong Basic Law.

On April 12, 2021, he received the suspension order from his workplace, Environmental Department. Since then, he has not received any response upon his inquiry of the government's decision.

Mr. Wu recounted that he was asked by the management to sign the oath on March 12, the last day of submission. Mr. Wu in the end signed the document and turned in three copies: one in person and two by fax.

However, the government decided to fire him directly and did not follow up with his query. On April 20, 2021, the management of the Department bar Mr. Wu from returning to the office. On April 23, the Department cleared his desk and claimed that his belongings would be sent to his home, or the landfill otherwise. Mr. Wu was unable to retrieve his medication and the keys to his home. He has since then spent a few days on the street.

The statement released by the union #HKCTU pointed out that Mr. Wu had been fulfilling his duty as a civil servant for over 30 years. The behavior of the government clearly endangers the rights of the employees with a different voice.

Source: InMedia; HKCTU #Apr23
https://bit.ly/3tLzc9x

#FailedState #Infringement