Wellcome among the employers taking part in second round of wage subsidies, as number of applicants drops by 57 per cent
- A source close to the matter says Wellcome is still negotiating with the government on the details of conditions imposed on the new round of aid
- The upcoming batch of subsidies will be rolled out between September and November
One of Hong Kong’s biggest supermarket chains, Wellcome, will participate in the latest round of HK$81 billion (US$10.3 billion) wage subsidies, conceding to government demands to offer discounts in return, the Post has learned, even as the total number of applications for the scheme dropped significantly.
A total of 184,723 applications were made by Sunday’s deadline for the second instalment of the six-month Employment Support Scheme (ESS), the government announced on Monday.
According to people familiar with the application, Wellcome, which runs 331 stores around the city, had applied for the subsidy again after receiving HK$399 million in subsidies – together with its sister units – between June and August.
The source said the firm was eligible for the scheme, and was negotiating with officials over the details of conditions imposed by the government on those returning to the programme.
In August, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had demanded two of the city’s biggest supermarket chains give discounts to customers to qualify for the government’s financial assistance, pointing out that supermarkets had seen their sales grow despite the overall slump in the retail sector amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The upcoming batch of wage subsidies will be rolled out between September and November. The scheme was launched before the city’s third wave of Covid-19 infections in early July, when social-distancing measures tightened, further straining the fragile economy.