On Tuesday (8th), Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a series of measures to help those affected by the fifth wave of the new crown epidemic, including a single distribution of 10,000 yuan in unemployment assistance, including eligible self-employed people.
After two years of refusing to introduce unemployment benefits and now giving the green light, the government has shown a major stance, but in the final analysis, directly subsidizing citizens and families suffering from the epidemic is just what the normal government has to do.
The government plans to provide a one-off 10,000 yuan support to those who have been temporarily or temporarily unemployed since the fifth wave of the epidemic.
The eligibility for the application is yet to be announced. Carrie Lam said that the eligibility may be determined based on the MPF contribution record, that is, the applicant has always made contributions, but has not contributed since December last year, which is equivalent to no job.
Carrie Lam emphasized that this move is an out-of-the-ordinary thinking, because about 60% of the new round of 26 billion yuan of anti-epidemic funds supports individuals, which is different from the past.
In fact, supporting the unemployed during the epidemic is what the government should do. At best, it can only be said that it is returning to the right path. The so-called "exceptional" reflects that the government has made mistakes in the past and failed to accurately support individuals and families.
The government's labor support under the epidemic is ineffective
The two rounds of "employment protection" programs launched two years ago have been reduced to "employer protection" programs, and the government has even been generous enough to support companies that have benefited from the epidemic.
In contrast, officials only know how to ask the unemployed to apply for the stigmatized unemployment CSSA, which is ineligible for those with slightly higher assets.
Even though the unemployment loan was launched last year, the number of applicants was small, and it was far from the government's original commitment of 12 billion yuan, reflecting that the plan was far below expectations.
The HKMA recently announced that until mid-January this year, about 36,100 applications had been approved, involving 2.5 billion yuan, less than 20% of the commitment.
Some non-governmental organizations have reported that banks require applicants to continuously submit additional documents, hindering the progress of the application, and even some applicants back down.
Instead of launching various assistance measures, it is better to launch unemployment assistance directly to quickly relieve the urgent needs of the unemployed and families.
Unemployment protection in Hong Kong is insufficient, and it is the grass-roots citizens who bear the brunt.
(Photo by O Jiale)
In fact, the epidemic broke out last month, and it will take at least two or three months to ease. A single 10,000 yuan support is not enough to help the unemployed and their families to tide over the difficulties.
The government needs to extend the aid period to at least three months, during which the monthly subsidy is reasonable.
In addition, people who have been placed on unpaid leave or have their hours cut should also receive funding where appropriate to help them and their families meet basic living expenses.
Regardless of the type of aid, the review process must be simple to help the unemployed as soon as possible in the winter.
Out-of-the-box thinking doesn’t stop with unemployment aid
Now that the government is determined to break the stereotype, it should continue to "beat me down yesterday", adopting and implementing policies that have long been demanded by the private sector to improve people's livelihood and well-being while implementing unemployment assistance measures.
In the field of labor benefits, the government must prevent platform economy companies such as food delivery and other platforms from removing workers’ protections from self-employment, and at least allow workers to enjoy some employee rights such as sick leave and labor insurance, and stop at the research stage.
In addition, the government has repeatedly refused to set standards for overwork and overwork death on the grounds that the causes of death and injury are complicated.
In fact, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have defined and identified standards for workplace deaths caused by overwork, which can help the government determine compensable occupational diseases.
As long as the government is determined to improve labor conditions, consult the opinions of trade unions and foreign labor laws, and then invite labor and management to negotiate, the long-standing problem can be solved.
The period of the new crown epidemic is an opportunity to improve the elderly policy
