Thousands of cooked-food hawkers will lose their sole source of income if the Urban Council approves a proposal to stiffen penalties, unions have warned.
General hawking without a licence carries a maximum fine of $2,500 and a month's imprisonment.
But the council's Markets and Street Traders Select Committee has passed a motion to amend the bill to specify that cooked-food hawkers will face a maximum penalty of $5,000 and three months in prison for a first offence.
The punishment could be added to the standard hawking penalty, and extra penalties for obstruction, which warrant fines of $5,000 or three months' imprisonment, could also be added.
The proposal will go before the Standing Committee of the Whole Council on May 7 for final approval.
Lee Cheuk-yan, chief executive of the Confederation of Trade Unions, warned that the law would throw many of the estimated 10,000 illegal hawkers out of work.
