120 workers axed after Hong Kong contractor goes bust as officials scramble to contain any knock-on effect at related firms
- Labour Department has set up a helpline for about 120 employees of prominent contractor Fung Cheung Kee, welfare chief Chris Sun says
- Authorities working with unions to find out if more subcontractors are also in distress following Fung Cheung Kee’s fall, he adds
About 120 construction workers have been laid off because of the sudden collapse of a 44-year-old Hong Kong firm and more frontline jobs at other companies are at risk, with nearly 20 business partners seeking help from a trade union.
Government minister Chris Sun Yuk-han said the Labour Department had set up a helpline for about 120 employees of prominent contractor Fung Cheung Kee, which entered liquidation on Friday.
Sun, the secretary for labour and welfare, said on Saturday that salaries and severance payments owed by the firm would be covered by the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund. Authorities were working with unions to find out if more subcontractors were also in distress following Fung Cheung Kee’s fall, he added.
“We understand there are second- and third-tier subcontractors and are hoping to get in touch with them in the meantime to understand how many workers are involved, and whether they need help from the Labour Department,” Sun said.
Ryan Ng Wai-leung, rights and complaints officer at the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, said it was difficult to estimate the number of subcontractor staff as it could be “enormous”.
The union has received more than 20 requests for help from Fung Cheung Kee employees, and nearly 20 of its business partners have been in touch.
The company with the largest arrears is owed more than HK$60 million, while a scaffolding subcontractor is due HK$10 million.
Ng said some subcontractors had paid their workers before Lunar New Year, expecting Fung Cheung Kee to foot the bill after the holiday period.