Lee said yesterday his allies included the Liberal Party; Federation of Trade Unions; Lam Tai-fai, legislator for the industrial sector; and Abraham Razack, the legislator for the property and construction sector.

It would not be the first big political stand-off between the administration and the legislature recently.

One was in October, when lawmakers repealed Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's order to turn five hectares of Clear Water Bay Country Park into a landfill.

Last month lawmakers rejected the government's proposal to bid for the 2023 Asian Games.

The transport-subsidy proposal is an expansion of the Transport Support Scheme, which since mid 2008 has offered a HK$600 monthly subsidy to some 40,000 low-paid workers living in Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, North District and Outlying Islands.

Eligibility is based on income and assets of individuals. To qualify, applicants need to earn HK$6,500 per month or less and have assets of HK$44,000 or less.

The government says the expanded scheme would cover 380,000 low-paid workers living in all districts, but it would assess applicants on a household basis.

For a couple, the income limit is HK$10,000 per month. For three people, HK$13,000.

'We can see more disagreements like this with elections of legislators and district councillors coming up,' said Dr James Sung Lap-kung, a political scientist at City University.

Sung said politicians wanted to show that they did not easily bend to government proposals.

'What the centre of the argument is does not really matter,' he said.

The 35 legislators were still in discussions in the hope of handing in a counter-proposal to the government before the meeting. 'Then if the government agrees, the working poor can enjoy the allowance as soon as possible,' Lee said.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung has been lobbying lawmakers to support the government plan, meeting the Democratic Party and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong yesterday.

Cheung said the government proposal was introduced after thorough consideration. What was most important, he said, 'is that we have to offer assistance to low-income families who are really in need'.

Critics disputed whether the proposed scheme would help the needy as the government said.

'It is outrageous,' said Peter Cheung Kwok-che, legislator for the social welfare sector. 'Since applicants have to apply as households, some workers obtaining the allowance in the old scheme would become disqualified. For instance, a worker earning HK$4,000 a month was eligible for the allowance in the old scheme since she could apply as an individual. With the new scheme, she would be deprived if her husband earned HK$6,500 a month.'

Helping hand

The scheme has offered 40,000 low-paid workers a monthly subsidy, in HK dollars, of this much per month: $600