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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1977
CONTRIBUTORY INSURANCE SCHEME MORE ATTRACTIVE AS SAVINGS FOR WORKERS ******
THE CONTRIBUTORY DEATH, SICKNESS AND INJURY INSURANCE SCHEME WOULD BE MORE ATTRACTIVE TO WORKERS AS SOME FORM OF A SAVINGS SCHEME SO THAT THEY COULD GET BACK PART OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS AFTER A NUMBER OF YEARS, THE HON. WONG LAM SAID IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY.
HE POINTED OUT THAT THE CHINESE DO NOT VIEW LIFE INSURANCE IN THE SAME WAY AS WESTERNERS. ALTHOUGH THE WORKERS MAY BE WILLING TO CONTRIBUTE INITIALLY, AFTER A WHILE THEY MAY BE RELUCTANT TO PART WITH A SUM OF MONEY EVERY MONTH, HE SAID.
HE THOUGHT THE RATE OF 2 PER CENT TO BE CONTRIBUTED BY THE EMPLOYEE WAS NOT HIGH. AT PRESENT, A LARGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN PROVIDENT FUND SCHEMES CONTRIBUTE SOME 4 TO 5 PER CENT OF THEIR INCOME, HE SAID.
MR. WONG SUGGESTED THAT THE EMPLOYEE BE ALLOWED TO FIX HIS OWN CONTRIBUTION RATE, AT NOT LESS THAN 2 BUT NOT MORE THAN 5 PER CENT, TO SUIT INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS AND PREFERENCES.
HE AGREED WITH SETTING THE TIME FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SCHEME IN 1980, TO GIVE EMPLOYERS AMPLE TIME TO PREPARE THEMSELVES.
+GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE TO ENSURE THAT AN EMPLOYER WILL NOT REFUSE EMPLOYMENT TO A WORKER WHO WISHES TO JOIN THE SCHEME, AND THAT AN EMPLOYEE WILL NOT SUFFER ANY LOSS ON INSURANCE BENEFITS IF HE CHANGES JOBS,+ HE SAID.
HE HOPED THE GOVERNMENT WOULD PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT ALL THOSE CONCERNED MAY BE ABLE TO DISCUSS IT AND MAKE SUGGESTIONS,
ON HONG KONG'S EXPORT TRADE PROBLEMS, MR. WONG ASKED IF THE GOVERNMENT WOULD CONSIDER ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT IN NEW INDUSTRIES BY WAY OF SAY, 5 YEARS' TAX HOLIDAY.
EXPERIMENTS IN THIS FIELD HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT QUITE SUCCESSFULLY IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES, HE SAID, AND WE COULD PERHAPS TAKE A LEAF FROM THEIR BOOK.
HE FELT THAT CHANGES SHOULD BE INTRODUCED TO ENSURE LONGER-TERM PLANNING AND INVESTMENT IN LOCAL INDUSTRY, TO PLACE MORE EMPHASIS ON THE MANUFACTURE OF MORE SOPHISTICATED PRODUCTS, AND BROADEN OUR INDUSTRIAL BASE.
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