ATV faces legal action over unpaid wages
Labour Department prosecutes over September delay as station axes flagship news show amid threats from staff to quit if they don’t get paid
Cash-strapped ATV and its directors are being prosecuted for not paying staff, adding to uncertainty over the station's future.
The Labour Department made the announcement last night, after the 57-year-old broadcaster warned of programme cancellations amid threats from staff - who have not been paid for 11/2 months - to quit en masse from today.
ATV is being prosecuted over a delay in paying salaries in September, the department said. That means the latest delay is still being investigated. An ATV spokesman refused to comment on the pay issue last night.
The department said ATV was being prosecuted for "wilfully and without reasonable excuse" failing to pay its staff on time during the period from July 1 to September 30. It said: "The offences were suspected to have been committed by the company with the consent, connivance or neglect of the director concerned."
Court summonses are to be sent to ATV, and the case will be heard in Sha Tin Court. The department said it had informed ATV's directors.
It comes as the station teeters on the brink of collapse. On Tuesday, executive director Ip Ka-po said it was at the crossroads of life and death. ATV owes more than 700 staff over HK$15 million in wages as it tries to find a new buyer and ensure its free-to-air licence is renewed in November.