TNAG-1735-FCO40-2448-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 97

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 1 June 1988

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He said: Sir, I move that the Protection of Wages on Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 1988 be read a Second time.

Members will remember that in reply to a question from Mr. TAM Yiu- chung in this Council on 18 May 1988, I said that I would soon be proposing an amendment to the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance to enable ex gratia payments to be made from the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund in cases where total claims against the employer are $5,000 or less. This is the purpose of the present Bill.

Section 16 of the Ordinance provides that the Commissioner for Labour may make ex gratia payments from the fund to an applicant whose wages or wages in lieu of notice, or both, are due and unpaid, provided that either a bankruptcy or winding up petition has been presented against the employer. However, sec- tion 6(1)(a) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance does not allow the presentation of a bankruptcy petition if a debt or the total sum of debts is $5,000 or less.

Since April 1985, when the fund came into operation, eight applications involving 16 employees have had to be refused by the Commissioner for Labour because of this restriction. If claims of $5,000 or less are accepted, it is estimated that there will be about 30 such claims a year, involving a payment of about $150,000 from the fund. This represents less than 1 per cent of annual payments from the fund.

Clause 2 of the Bill seeks to amend section 16 of the Ordinance to enable the Commissioner for Labour to make ex gratia payments from the fund to employees who are prevented from presenting a bankruptcy petition because of the restriction in section 6(1)(a) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance.

Sir, this seems to me to be a very worthwhile improvement to the Ordinance and it has the support of both the Labour Advisory Board and of the fund board.

I move that the debate on this motion be adjourned.

Question on adjournment proposed, put and agreed to.

TRIAL OF COMMERCIAL CRIMES BILL 1985

Resumption of debate on Second Reading (30 March 1985)

ATTORNEY GENERAL: For reasons given, Sir, in my speech introducing the Complex Commercial Crimes Bill 1988 and in accordance with Standing Order 52, I now withdraw the Trial of Commercial Crimes Bill 1985 from this Council.

Bill withdrawn pursuant to Standing Order 52.