TNAG-1724-FCO40-2437-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 320

3.

pplementary to Question No. 6. Leggo meeting on 20 January 1988

Mr. TAM (in Cantonese):

Sir, I agree that lower-paid

employees should be our priority target for protection.

However, does the Government agree that wages are mainly a

reflection of the contribution, responsibility and seniority

of the employees and therefore it does not follow that

those who are higher paid should not be protected ?

Sir, in my view the

Secretary for Education and Manpower:

higher-paid are in less need of protection than the lower-

paid. There is also the point that in this particular case

the protection given in the Ordinance includes priority in

bankruptcy, if the employer goes bankrupt. Now, if the same

benefit is given to higher-paid employees, this means there

will be less, in certain circumstances, less funds available

for lower-paid ones, so the higher-paid would be receiving

their protection to some extent at the expense of the lower-

paid. It is possible one could find ways round this

particular problem but this is something that would have

to be taken into consideration if one was amending the

present provisions.

Mr. SZETO (in Cantonese): Sir, could the Government inform

this Council whether the unreasonable demarcation between

manual and non-manual workers in society will be removed

if we are to do away with the ceiling and that all

employees will be treated on the same footing?

Secretary for Education and Manpower: Sir, if the ceiling

was abolished altogether, then the present distinction between