Help Social Enterprises Stay Afloat, Govt Urged

The government’s been urged to provide rent and wage subsidies specially for social enterprises that employ the disabled and other disadvantaged groups so they could stay afloat amid this wave of Covid-19 outbreak.

A group representing such enterprises said on Thursday that many of its members have seen sales slashed during the pandemic.

The General Chamber of Social Enterprises conducted a survey with more than 150 members, and said almost all of them reported in drop in business, with 45 percent saying sales were cut by half compared to a year ago.

One cafe hiring people with visual impairment pointed out that it earned only HK$200 on a bad day.

Some respondents also expressed worries that they may have to close down if the fifth wave of outbreak cannot be brought under control by June.

“Usually it is not easy [for people in disadvantaged groups] to get an open employment in the open market,” said Andy Ng, the chamber’s chairman.

He also pointed out that social enterprises are mostly small-and-medium-sized businesses that are less resilient to shockwaves.

“If we don’t have these social enterprises to employ them, that means that there will be quite a lot of loss in the sense that these people will become jobless and they will be left idle at home again.”

The chamber also proposed that the government can fund training programmes for full-time and part-time staff at social enterprises so that such businesses can survive and operate more efficiently when the Covid situation eases.