Jobless Can Opt To Look For New Work: Matthew Cheung

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung has dismissed the possibility of offering unemployment benefits to people who've lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, saying the jobless have the option to look for work in new areas instead.

Cheung made the comments during a Legco Finance Committee meeting on Friday where lawmakers were vetting the government's third round of anti-epidemic funding, and discussing injecting an additional HK$5.4 billion into the third round which is currently worth HK$24 billion.

During the meeting, lawmakers slammed the government for not enough to help people and businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, saying HK$24 billion is not enough to help Hong Kong people.

Democratic Party lawmakers called for another round of universal cash handouts, while those representing the business sector said more subsidies should be allocated to firms that had been ordered to close during the peak of the recent outbreak.

But both sides were united in their calls for an unemployment subsidy for those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

But the Chief Secretary rejected this. "For those who are unemployed, those who have lost their jobs, for example, they have an option, because of the restructuring of the economy they may need to switch to another field," he said.

Cheung also brushed aside suggestions of another round of universal cash handout, saying that is not the way to go given the government's dwindling fiscal reserves.

When asked whether the government will roll out a fourth round of anti-epidemic funding, Cheung said it all depends on the government financial health, and that the government needed "more ammunition" to cope with a possible fourth wave of infections in the winter, and that they needed to be prudent with the public finances.