The pros and cons of work for dole

WHEN Beijing stalwart Chen Zuo'er three years ago compared the Patten administration's surge in welfare expenditure with a speeding Formula One racing car 'which is going to crash and kill all six million people in Hong Kong', he was firmly rebuffed.

Mr Chen, who headed the Chinese budget team under the Joint Liaison Group, used his racy metaphor after pointing out that welfare spending had risen by 66.5 per cent in real terms over the previous five years. The Hong Kong Government rejected the charge and declared it was doing no more than addressing the community's needs.

Now, almost 18 months after the handover, the Government has revealed the long-awaited results of the review of its major welfare benefits scheme, the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA). The review was ordered by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in his first Policy Address last year when he said: 'We need to be compassionate and caring. But, we should not remove incentives to work.' For the first time, the proposals call for a cut in welfare benefits and the introduction of mandatory community work for the unemployed recipients. In an ironic resemblance to the racing car metaphor, a high-placed official argued the need to apply the brakes on the growth of payouts. He warned the scheme would 'bankrupt the economy' if it went unchecked.

Expenditure in CSSA is expected to jump more than five-fold from $2.4 billion in 1993-94 to $13 billion by the end of this financial year. According to Director of Social Welfare Andrew Leung Kin-pong, the figure 'will definitely go up further next year' because more elderly people will be entitled to the safety net.

He hinted other welfare services would also be affected. More importantly, according to the Government, the number of 'unemployment' recipients has risen at an alarming rate.

Amid sharp rises in the unemployment rate this year and the lack of pointers to an improvement, more unemployed will be tempted to apply for CSSA payments in the next few months. By propagating the importance of 'self-reliance', the Government is trying to introduce more disincentives for those who are out of work to go to the Government - even as a last resort.