Govt Aid Plan Ignoring Logistics Sector: Union

Representatives from the logistic sector on Friday said that government aid had totally bypassed them until now and called for handouts for owners and operators of commercial vehicles.

The Hong Kong Logistics and Freight Transport Union wants the government to give owners of light goods vehicles one-off payments of HK$15,000, and double that for owners of heavy goods vehicles.

Drivers should be given the same subsidy as taxi drivers, it said, or HK$6,000 per month for up to six months.

The union said it had conducted a survey last week involving 628 respondents from the sector, and over 90 percent of them said they had to either take no-pay leave or were underemployed.

One of the drivers said he received an average income of HK$500 per day under the pandemic, which is not enough for him to cover the cost of renting his vehicle and parking fees.

The group said the government has left the sector out from the previous rounds of handouts under the anti-epidemic fund and urged the authorities to include them in the third round reported being planned.

Civic Party member Jeremy Tam, who was helping the union, said it's only fair for the government to give the struggling sector some much-needed help.

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