Workers ask for union help after restaurant closures
The King Parrot Group has reportedly closed down its restaurants. Photo: RTHK
A union on Monday said it has received over 100 requests for assistance from former employees of a 33-year-old restaurant group.
The King Parrot Group reportedly notified staff on Friday that it was ceasing operations.
The Hotels, Food and Beverage Employees Association said the group's nine fully owned restaurants, including Coast Seafood & Grill in Causeway Bay and Dirty Skillet in Shau Kei Wan, have closed.
Nerine Yip, the association's general secretary, said former staff are claiming unpaid payments in lieu of notice, severance pay and holiday pay totalling over HK$1 million.
'We will first file cases with the Labour Department and try to contact the employer,' she told an RTHK radio programme.
'If that is successful, we hope to learn about the actual situation of the company. In the meantime, we also need to find out how much money is owed to the workers in order to assess whether the employer is capable of paying. If not, we hope the employer will sign a letter confirming that it is unable to settle the payments."
Unionist lawmaker Lam Chun-sing said he has received calls for assistance from about 30 former employees from one of the group's restaurants in Mei Foo, with alleged unsettled payments estimated to be worth more than HK$2 million in total.
Meanwhile, Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the reported closure of the group shows some restaurants are suffering significantly from people travelling out of town during weekends or long holidays
Some upscale restaurants have even seen a 60 to 80 percent drop in business, he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
11 hours ago
- RTHK
EOC rues lack of family-friendly policies in firms
EOC rues lack of family-friendly policies in firms According to the study by the Equal Opportunities Commission, only about 10 percent has a family-friendly policy down in writing. Photo: RTHK The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) said there's a lack of family-friendly employment practices in Hong Kong. That finding came in a survey of 1,000 family members of employees and 400 human resources professionals in July and August last year. The study found that most family members want flexible hours, a five-day week and work-from-home arrangements for their family members. Executive director Ferrick Chu said that despite support from HR professionals for the former two measures, implementation still required endorsement from senior management. For leave that is beyond what's stated in the Employment Ordinance, HR professionals said that is not difficult to implement, he said, "as long as the employer agrees". Chu added that most of them say they aren't afraid of abuse as there are ways to handle such issues, such as asking for proof of need. Of companies in the study, only about 10 percent has a family-friendly policy down in writing. If they introduce a good policy, it may help to change the culture and practice, he said Chu added that the study can help companies gather information and adopt suitable policies, and that other institutions should conduct similar studies. "It is not something for the EOC to do alone, it's for the whole of society to support the measure, to change the culture."
RTHK
12 hours ago
- RTHK
Evergrande to delist from Hong Kong stock market
Evergrande to delist from Hong Kong stock market Evergrande says the city's stock exchange has decided to delist its shares per listing rules. File photo: AFP China Evergrande Group has announced its shares will be delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, as court-appointed liquidators warned of the real estate firm's debt load was far bigger than earlier estimated. In a filing on Tuesday, the company said the stock exchange has decided to cancel its listing from August 25 – as trading had not resumed by July 28 – and it would not apply for a review of the decision. "The last day of the listing of the shares will be on August 22, 2025 and the listing of the Shares will be cancelled with effect from 9am on August 25, 2025," the filing read. "All shareholders, investors and potential investors of the company should note that after the last listing date, whilst the share certificates of the shares will remain valid, the shares will not be listed on, and will not be tradeable on the stock exchange." Hong Kong's High Court issued a winding-up order for Evergrande in January 2024, ruling that the debt-laden company had failed to come up with a viable restructuring plan. Trading of its shares has since been suspended. In an attached progress report, liquidators Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong said a "holistic" restructuring is out of reach. They also said Evergrande's debt load exceeded the US$27.5 billion of liabilities disclosed in its financial statement in December 2022. "As at July 31, 2025, this claims' discovery exercise had resulted in 187 proofs of debt being submitted, by which claims of approximately HK$350 billion (US$45 billion) in aggregate have been made," the document read. But the latest figure was not to be taken as final, the liquidators added.
RTHK
19 hours ago
- RTHK
Tsing Yi school denies dealings for mainland students
Tsing Yi school denies dealings for mainland students The Education Bureau says schools are not allowed to collaborate with third-party institutions to launch courses without its approval. File photo: RTHK A secondary school in Tsing Yi has denied online reports that it is working with tutorial centres to offer places to mainland students. This came as the Education Bureau said it would seriously deal with such cases and after it temporarily shut down a school in Cheung Sha Wan last week in the wake of reports that it had partnered up with a Shenzhen-based tutorial centre to promote a Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) exam programme for the 2025 academic year. In a statement issued on Monday, Caritas St Joseph Secondary School in Tsing Yi said it had never authorised or signed any agreements on student admissions with local and mainland tutorial centres. 'Our school treats all admission applications equally with assessments and interviews," the school said. "We will not give priority to students recommended or referred by any institution.' The school also said it has been in compliance with government regulations on student admissions and in its daily operation. The bureau said on Monday it attaches great importance to reports that schools are allegedly working with non-local institutions to offer student status to those who don't reside here. The bureau said it is handling the matter seriously to ensure that local students do not lose out. Schools are not allowed to collaborate with third-party institutions in arranging for them to offer courses on their campuses without the bureau's approval, it said, calling on local schools not to break the rule. The bureau has also said it had rejected a registration application by Inno Secondary School (Kowloon Tong) due to an unsatisfying management and financial situation after a student of the private school is suspected of holding dual student status in Hong Kong and mainland. The school was informed of the decision in late July, it said, adding that the school's temporary registration will not be extended after it expires on September 30. Students cannot register in more than one public school at the same time, it said in urging parents not to register children in different schools, which would lead to unnecessary pressure for the students.
