Latest news with #LamChun-sing
HKFP
01-07-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong delivery workers' rights group ceases operations
A labour rights group for delivery workers has ceased operations after local media reported that Hong Kong lawmakers had been cautioned against discussing platform workers' rights. Without providing a reason, the Riders' Rights Concern Group announced on Monday evening that it would cease operations effective immediately. The posts appeared on Facebook and Instagram before their social media pages became inaccessible. The labour group is part of the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, a non-government pressure group. The announcement came just days after an opinion piece in the Hong Kong Economic Journal suggesting that lawmakers had been warned not to discuss four issues, including delivery workers' rights. It is unclear whether the warnings came from the local authorities. HKFP has reached out to the government for comment. The concern group has campaigned for delivery workers' rights and lobbied for strengthened legal protections since 2021. The concern group supported foodpanda strikes over wage cuts in 2022 and assisted workers for the delivery company Zeek after it shut down in 2023. It also warned of further exploitation in the industry after UK food delivery company Deliveroo announced its exit from the Hong Kong market in March. Some lawmakers in the city's opposition-free legislature, including Lam Chun-sing, chair of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, have called for the creation of a third legal category recognising the hybrid status of delivery workers. Following strikes by delivery workers earlier this year, labour and welfare chief Chris Sun last month told lawmakers that the Hong Kong government will introduce a proposal this year to enhance the rights and benefits of digital platform workers. Couriers for Keeta have been staging a series of protests across Hong Kong since late April demanding better treatment from the delivery platform.
RTHK
28-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
'Consider halting labour imports for certain sectors'
'Consider halting labour imports for certain sectors' Lam Chun-sing says the government could set a quota for the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme depending on unemployment figures. Photo: RTHK A trade unionist lawmaker on Saturday suggested that officials should consider pausing labour imports for certain industries, as more locals are losing their jobs after the shuttering of multiple companies. These closures involved bakery chain Taipan which ceased operations after more than four decades on Tuesday, as well as local congee chain Ocean Empire Food Shop after operating for 33 years. Lam Chun-sing, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions told reporters after a Commercial Radio programme that the government could set a quota for the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme depending on unemployment figures, to give locals the priority. "We don't want to see a situation [where] our unemployment rate increases and also we continue to import more and more labour. So we hope that maybe the government can collect more information on different job categories," he said. "If [in] those job categories, the unemployment rate is very high and the number of job vacancies [is] reduced, then the government may set a limit or a ceiling or suspend the labour importation scheme in a specific job category." Lam also suggested the government to roll out various measures such as a tax allowance to encourage employers to recruit elderly workers as part of its bid to promote the silver economy.
RTHK
09-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Workers ask for union help after restaurant closures
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.
RTHK
09-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Congee chain 'irresponsible in way it treated staff'
Congee chain 'irresponsible in way it treated staff' The owner of Ocean Empire Food Shop only notified staff of its closure in a last-minute letter. Photo: Courtesy of Ocean Empire International Ltd's website A unionist lawmaker on Friday criticised the owner of a local congee chain – Ocean Empire Food Shop – for acting irresponsibly by notifying staff of its closure only at the very last minute. The owner, Ocean Empire International, informed all its employees late on Wednesday in a letter that it had shut down all outlets and offices and terminated their contracts of all employees the same day. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Lam Chun-sing pointed out the closure showed that the catering sector is facing a lot of challenges. He said the owner could have made the announcement earlier. "Indeed it seems rather irresponsible as the company issued the notice in this manner," Lam said. "It's not as if it only found out it had to close at the last minute; it likely knew about it three or four months in advance. "It should have informed the employees earlier about when the final payday would be, whether any unused annual leave would be fully compensated and then proceeded with the closure. "Then it would have given colleagues time to prepare and start looking for other jobs earlier." In the letter, the management wrote that employees could turn to the Labour Department for assistance about Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund for ex-gratia payments. Workers can apply to the fund if a company is unable to pay back its employees after liquidation. Lam expressed concern over whether employees would be able to get back the full amount of their wage arrears even if they applied to the fund as it has a ceiling of HK$80,000. The Labour Department said at least 80 staff members have sought help over such issues as outstanding wages, which amount to more than HK$8 million. The Eating Establishment Employees General Union has received more than 100 requests for assistance, including about 20 imported workers. They were owed up to HK$10 million in total. Lam noted that some imported workers have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to work in the SAR, and they have to return home within 14 days after the termination of their employment. He called on the government to work with mainland authorities on the issue of agency fees as those who have been terminated within a short period upon arrival will undoubtedly suffer huge losses. The general union's Chiu Kwun-chung said on the same show that the restaurant has neither paid wages since last month nor contributed to staff's mandatory provident funds since January even though it had deducted the amounts from their incomes. He said the company should offer details on the matter, instead of breaking the news in the form of a letter, which he considered as anything but ideal. Chiu added that the owner should offer up information, such as staff's work attendance as well as leave records, to enable them to apply for ex-gratia payments.
RTHK
23-04-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Lawmakers call for rise in income thresholds for MPF
Lawmakers call for rise in income thresholds for MPF Lam Chun-sing, second left, and Kingsley Wong, fourth left, want both lower and upper income thresholds to be raised. Photo: RTHK Unionists called on Wednesday for adjustments to income levels for mandatory provident fund (MPF) contributions so people can enjoy better protection upon retirement. Lawmaker Kingsley Wong, who's also chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, said that can be achieved by adjusting the minimum and maximum levels of income on which MPF contributions are based. These levels, he pointed out, have remained unchanged at HK$7,100 and HK$30,000 respectively for more than 10 years. Wong suggested the income range at which contributions become mandatory be raised to between HK$10,250 and HK$50,000. At present, those earning less than the minimum threshold per month do not have to make MPF contributions. This is despite the latest government data showing that workers' median monthly salary now stands at HK$20,500, Wong said. He said adjusting the income levels is crucial in terms of retirement protection. "Based on our calculations, because our contributions for MPF are quite low, they are only sufficient to cover one third of the amount needed after retirement," Wong said. "We will need to rely on other kinds of subsidies to fill the gap. "If we can adjust the relevant income levels, it will be a great help." Lam Chun-sing, lawmaker and chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, called on the government to make MPF contributions for low-income and grassroots workers as soon as possible. He pointed out that by adjusting the income levels, even though more low-income workers can be exempted from making mandatory contributions, this would mean that they enjoy less protection for retirement. Lam believes the government would be able to shoulder the additional costs, as the number of low-income individuals earning less than HK$10,000 a month is low, he added. Separately, Lam said the proposal to allow people to transfer the entire MPF amounts to a new scheme provider once per year is good for workers. "If they can choose their own investment plan, [as] trustees also want to attract them to make investment in their funds, so there's competition," he said. "And through market forces, [it will] encourage the trustees to improve their investment performance and lower their administrative fees, and that will benefit employees." Currently, people can only transfer their own contributions, but not those made by their employers.
