Society Should Support Employers: Law Chi-kwong

Labour Secretary Law Chi-kwong has called on society to support employers providing basic employment and retirement protection for workers.

He made the comment while discussing the abolition of the MPF offset mechanism on his weekly blog on Sunday, reiterating comments he made a day earlier when he said the government was determined to scrap the mechanism, but recognised the need to help employers adjust to the reform.

The government plans legislation to scrap the mechanism, which means businesses will not be able to use their workers' MPF contributions to fund long-service and severance payments. The administration has earmarked HK$17.2 billion to cushion the blow for businesses for the first 12 years after the reform.

However, the president of the Small and Medium Enterprises Association, Stephen Kwok, also renewed his call for the government to increase financial help for small firms.

Kwok said government figures showed that about half of small firms will not be able to afford the payments a decade or so after the law change.