TNAG-1732-FCO40-2445-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 53

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It is true that

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: /the fund does not

cover severance pay at the moment.

HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT: Mr. Tam, because that went

through translation theremight have been errors but could I

draw the attention of Members not to try to suggest that

Members of this Council would seek to mislead.

Do you

understand, Mr. Tam?

Mr. TAM (in Cantonese):

According to

statistics

provided by the Government, the problem is not serious,

but does the Government understand that at present some

employers are trying to make use of

a

loophole in the law?

So long as a worker is employed to work six hours a day and 12 days

within four weeks, the employer does not have to dismiss the

worker. The worker, however, will be forced to resign because

he is underemployed, and therefore the employer will not

have to pay the severance pay. Has the Government studied this

problem?

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER:

Yes, Sir, we have

been looking into this matter. We have heard allegations

of this sort but the number of such complaints is

comparatively few at the moment. In the

I

have

mentioned,

there

are

49

cases

only

five where allegations of this kind have been brought up,