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[Labor Day] Are you blessed to bear the Buddha ’s birthday for four days?

2020-04-30T00:08:25.230Z


It's Labor Day again, but this year's labor life is very difficult. Starting from Thursday (30th) Buddha's birthday together with Saturday and Sunday, wage earners should have four days off with a day off to take a rest. But this year ’s Buddha ’s birthday is linked to Labor Day, and


01 point of view

Written by: Review Editor

2020-04-30 08:00

Last update date: 2020-04-30 08:00

Starting from Thursday (30th) Buddha's birthday together with Saturday and Sunday, wage earners should have four days off with a day off to take a rest. However, this year ’s Buddha ’s birthday is linked to Labor Day, and the Buddha ’s birthday is not covered by the law. Many citizens may only have three days off. And this year's epidemic is ruthless. After the four-day holiday, perhaps the wage earners may not have to return. This year's Labor Day only reminds us of the lack of protection of labor rights.

(Profile picture)

Buddha's birthday is not inevitable

According to the "Employment Regulations", apart from Sunday, employers must allow employees to take only 12 days a year, including New Year's Day, the first three days of the lunar calendar, and Labor Day. Public holidays that are generally marked in red on the calendar, such as Easter, the day after Christmas and the birthday of Buddha, are not within the scope of the Employment Regulations.

Hong Kong holidays have always been divided into "labor leave" and "bank leave". The former's 12-day leave is based on the Employment Regulations, while the latter is derived from the "Public Holidays Regulations", except for Sundays, office workers can enjoy 17-day public holidays, all banks, educational institutions, public institutions and government departments must comply, and whether private companies follow is voluntary. Take the Buddha's birthday on Thursday as an example. Whether employees can take holidays depends on the company's arrangements. "Red Holiday" is not inevitable in Hong Kong.

In December last year, the labor advisory committee still failed to reach a consensus on the issue of holiday equality. As the saying goes, there is no distinction between good and bad occupations, but labor leave and bank leave have not been equalized, and many wage earners still lose five days of vacation in vain. Since 2017, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Luo Zhiguang, said that this year's government has no plans to standardize labor leave and bank leave. It is time for Director Luo to change his attitude and let the Labor and Welfare Bureau take the initiative to intervene in labor negotiations. Labor-management interests originally conflicted, such as vacation equality, standard working hours, and minimum wages, and labor-management discussions often talked to themselves. The government's attempt to resolve the differences between labor and management by the LAB alone, or even imagine that the management will suddenly give in, is unavoidable. The Bureau should effectively contribute to the working class and take the initiative to promote vacation affirmative action legislation, rather than sit on the hill and watch the fight, the two sides should always hold their own words.

Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue also suggested in January that the number of statutory holiday days be gradually increased from 12 to 17 days, which is in line with the number of public holiday days, but whether and when it will become a matter remains to be discussed by the Labour Advisory Board. (Profile picture / Photograph by Gao Zhongming)

Wait until the Buddha ’s birthday

Buddha's birthday is not within the statutory holiday requirements in the Employment Regulations. Many office workers take four days off a year, but the future will certainly need to be changed. But for this year's wage earners, it may be a blessing to have leave. This year, Hong Kong suffered an epidemic, which has hit all walks of life. Many employees have been asked to take unpaid leave or even been dismissed. In the final analysis, the problem is also due to the limited protection of labor laws, and the temporary government measures have not taken into account employees who need to take unpaid leave. Even if the employer has no financial difficulties, the employer can still obtain government subsidies in June, but the employees are arranged The salary situation remains unanswered.

It's easy to celebrate Buddha's birthday in one year. The public may recall an online "tide text", which tells that netizens have been waiting from Christmas until the Buddha's birthday has not yet returned. The situation is similar to today's SAR government. The government's earlier measure of "distributing 10,000 yuan" is expected to accept applications from July. The government's first "employment protection" wage subsidy will be issued in June. Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue also suggested in January that the number of statutory holiday days be gradually increased from 12 to 17 days, which is in line with the number of public holiday days, but whether and when it will become a matter remains to be discussed by the Labour Advisory Board. After the Buddha's birthday, netizens may have to long press "F5" to wait for the good news of the government. Recently, the number of diagnosed cases in Hong Kong has maintained single-digit growth for many consecutive days. Although Hong Kong people must remain alert, from the side view, perhaps the public will not be able to receive government support for the epidemic until the epidemic has passed. It is difficult for distant waters to save the near fire. How to get support to the citizens as soon as possible is a problem that the government must solve now.

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Source: hk1

All news articles on 2020-04-30

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