Anger as $6.4b relief package passes

The Legislative Council has approved a HK$6.4 billion injection for the latest round of anti-epidemic fund measures, as lawmakers demanded more attention to be paid to employees and sectors who have been left out of the latest handouts.

The injection, which passed with 32 votes for, one against and two abstentions in a finance committee meeting yesterday, included HK$5.5 billion in handouts for businesses that were ordered to shut down and restaurants that were banned from dine-in services. The remainder is reserved for emergency use.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the package - the fourth round since February - could only focus on selected groups due to an expected record budget deficit of more than HK$300 billion.

He added that the government had no plans to launch another tranche of the Employment Support Scheme measures at the moment.

"We know many people [and] other sectors have been left out But given our fiscal constraints, we have to take this approach," Cheung said.

The Federation of Trade Union's Luk Chung-hung said the new handouts are aimed at helping employers and offer little for employees.

"Under the pandemic, many sectors are suffering and countless families are struggling. The government claimed it would help, but the aid offered to workers is as little as a thin vest in freezing winter," he said.

Luk cited the aviation industry, where frontline workers who lost their jobs amid the pandemic received no sector-specific help from the government.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's Vincent Cheng Wing-shun noted workers might not be protected without the Employment Support Scheme, and that the government should make employers promise that they will not dismiss staff after receiving the subsidy.

Cheung said the handouts are meant to help businesses weather the storm and at least afford rents: "We encourage employers to share it with staffers I believe this is a manifestation of benevolence amid adversity."

Tourism-sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing said the industry has been badly hit, as businesses have received almost no income for some 11 months already. He called on the government not to rule out the Employment Support Scheme, which had served as a "back door" for many workers.

Twenty tour coaches and cross-boundary buses honked horns to protest being left out of the latest handouts yesterday.

East Eternal Cross-Border Coach Management, a cross-border bus operator, said the sector has dried up after the government closed the border to travelers for over 300 days.

He added that it was a mistake for the government to leave the sector out of the latest round of handouts, as their service is essential for Greater Bay development.