Big turnout at Legco for welfare panel
Dozens of different groups attend panel meeting to voice support for universal pension scheme
Non-governmental organisations and other grass-roots bodies turned out in large numbers yesterday for a Legislative Council meeting to show their support for a universal pension plan.
At the Legco welfare panel meeting, 72 groups and individuals - representing a range of organisations and people of different age groups and backgrounds - voiced their opinions on welfare planning.
Their message was clear - a universal scheme needs to be established, and soon.
"It's no longer a question of whether or not there should be universal pensions but rather when and how," one representative for the Women Workers' Association said.
Another attendee, a grandmother who said she was representing the non-profit Chinese Grey Power, said universal pension planning needed to start this year. "Why should the government waste time on things like the Old Age Living Allowance scheme, which cannot solve the problem? We need to unite and push for universal pension," she said.
Some groups said the allowance scheme - a means-tested system slated to begin distributing HK$2,200 a month to eligible residents in April - was a quick and easy way for the government to skirt the challenges of a comprehensive pension scheme.
The Council of Social Service said that while plans must be drawn up to tackle the challenges looming in the next five years, immediate problems needed to be solved now.
