Govt Expects 160,000 Employers To Seek Wage Subsidy

The government expects around 160,000 employers to apply for the latest round of pandemic wage subsidies under its employment support scheme (ESS), with registration due to open on Friday.

Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme, the head of the government's Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, Doris Ho, said tougher penalties are now in place to ensure the money goes to workers and that companies maintain or increase headcount.

She addressed concerns that the scheme came too late to help firms that had already shut down.

"We cannot help all companies with one single scheme," she said. "I think the main objective of the 2022 ESS is to provide wage subsidies to employers to retain jobs or even increase employment when the epidemic situation permits."

She added that there could be further government measures "to stimulate consumption demand and inject vitality into our economy" following the fifth wave of Covid-19.

Under the ESS scheme, firms can claim up to HK$8,000 per month to help pay the salaries of each eligible worker from May to July.

Speaking on another RTHK programme, an honorary chairman of the Institute of Dining Professionals, Simon Wong, compared the scheme's launch to the government's distribution of rapid test kits when the pandemic was easing, suggesting that the payments were coming too late.

But he believes the subsidies can still help the catering sector.

"It directly helps us with paying wages for three months. Actually in the coming three months, even if you don't subsidise us, the catering sector can still stop its losses - as long as you don't tighten social distancing rules," Wong said.

"But we have suffered in the past few months. So businesses hope to earn some money now to pay rent and bank loans they owed... When employees can go back to work, more people should be dining out and shopping again... This is better than staying in a depression and the economy can't recover."

Meanwhile, a worker representative on the Labour Advisory Board, Tam Kam-lin, said the scheme can give businesses the confidence to hire staff again.

But she hopes officials will conduct spot checks to make sure companies aren’t cutting staff wages.

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