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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2020-09-25 11:00
Last update date: 2020-09-25 11:00
The two major local supermarkets, Baijia and Wellcome, have seen their business increase without falling. However, they are still approved by the government's "Employment Guarantee" program. The government requires the two major supermarkets to give back the program funds to the society.
On Tuesday (22nd), two supermarkets announced their plans separately. Among them, the online lottery plan of Pokka also attracted social attention.
On the one hand, the government vetoed supermarkets to give back to the public with a full bill discount, but the Consumer Council also recommended that supermarkets reduce prices based on the bill.
The fist between the official authorities and supermarkets has really puzzled many citizens.
Although the goal of the "Ensure Employment" plan is to "provide time-limited financial support to employers to help them pay their employees so as to retain employees who may be laid off", the plan itself is ultimately a project of the Anti-epidemic Fund , Should not violate the fund’s original goal of "providing assistance or assistance to enterprises and citizens that have been hit hard by this epidemic or affected by the anti-epidemic measures."
The fist between the official authorities and supermarkets has really puzzled many citizens.
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Why should I have known today?
Ni Wenling, Chief Operating Officer of Watsons Group, said on a radio program on Wednesday (23) that the company had proposed a number of plans to the government, including 20% discount on shopping and gifting of cash coupons to customers, etc., to give back half of the subsidy to the public for employment protection, but The government explained that because it was difficult to monitor prices, the plan was ultimately rejected by the government.
Pokka’s full-order discount plan was also rejected, but after Pokka launched the "lottery" plan, the Consumer Council believed that the online lottery could not directly alleviate the people’s hardship and suggested that the consumption amount be directly deducted from the receipt.
From Pokka's perspective, it is not easy for companies to fully cooperate with official ideas.
The government has the responsibility to ensure that public funds are used appropriately. It is no longer appropriate to allow companies whose business is not damaged during the epidemic to receive funding.
The Secretary for Labor and Welfare, Luo Zhiguang, said when he escorted that, for the sake of simplicity and speed, it is difficult to draw too many lines on corporate subsidies.
However, it can be seen from Pokka’s case that after companies receive subsidies, the government cannot ensure that the subsidies can be returned to the public.
Even though PARKnSHOP can refer to another supermarket’s Wellcome’s "price freeze" plan-promising no increase in prices for more than 300 daily necessities in the next 6 months-I believe it will only slow down the future increase of Hong Kong goods and relieve the people’s hardship. Still far away.
The government knows that supermarkets have the ability to reduce prices and give back, but at the same time they are unwilling to draw a line according to the industry in the "Ensure Employment" program. Supermarkets swallowing huge subsidies can be described as "yesterday's cause, today's effect."
Since the problem stems from the random investment of medicines and stones in the "Ensure Employment" program, the government should rethink the unlined currency end of the subsidy target, and regain the leadership in qualification approval, rather than through statutory agencies or other channels in lottery, discounts, etc. The details such as cash coupons are formally "market-style bargaining" with merchants, which makes the government granting aid passive.
The government earlier announced the second round of the "Protecting Employment" program, which required the two major supermarkets, Pokka and Wellcome, to apply for subsidies and provide customers with discounts in various aspects.
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Work together to fight the epidemic
From the case of Pokka, the separate governance between government departments and statutory agencies is even more worrying about the lack of a comprehensive plan for how to assist enterprises and citizens affected by the epidemic.
The Secretariat of the "Protecting Employment" program believes that it cannot monitor the prices of all goods, but the Consumer Council believes that the consumption amount can be directly deducted from the receipt.
The government believes that the simplest and fastest way should be used to benefit the citizens, but it also grants subsidies to enterprises that do not have an urgent need, and hopes that the other party can forward the subsidies to the citizens.
This tortuous thinking undoubtedly makes the public lose confidence.
Since the government expects the funds to be used to alleviate people's hardship, the government should be targeted and directly issue subsidies to the affected citizens according to their industry or employment status.
The latest unemployment rate in Hong Kong is as high as 6.1%. Although many employees have jobs, they are still plagued by unpaid leave and the "negative clock" system, and their monthly income has been hit hard.
The number of employers applying for the second phase of the "Ensure Employment" program in Hong Kong has dropped by nearly 10%, and the employment situation of Hong Kong citizens in the future is even harder to be optimistic.
I believe that no matter how government departments and statutory bodies work independently, they should recognize a simple fact-Hong Kong society has always had more urgent public needs than supermarkets for government assistance.
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