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The Finance Committee today (March 26) endorsed a government proposal to provide a total of $42 million as ex-gratia payments to live-poultry operators directly affected by the suspension of the importation of live poultry from the Mainland due to the recent avian influenza outbreak in the region.
The approved provision would fund the one-off ex-gratia payments to the directly affected live-poultry operators, including wholesalers, retailers, transport operators and chicken farmers. The proposal was largely modelled on the package approved for the avian influenza outbreak in 2001.
A spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said that the one-off ex-gratia payments were to alleviate the difficulties experienced by the different groups of live-poultry operators who have been directly affected by the suspension of live-poultry imports from the Mainland.
"The supply of imported live poultry from the Mainland has accounted for over 70% of the total live-poultry consumption in Hong Kong. Given the suspension of imports of live poultry from the Mainland, many live-poultry wholesalers and retailers have to suspend their operations," he said.
Under the current proposal, live-poultry wholesalers operating in the wholesale poultry markets managed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will obtain ex-gratia payments of $40,000 per stall while live-poultry transport operators get $24,000 per lorry used for the regular transportation of live poultry on AFCD's records.
For live-poultry retailers, ex-gratia payments of $30,000 will be granted to each live-poultry stall operating in Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) wet markets and to each licensee of fresh provision shops (FPS) with endorsement to sell live poultry in premises of the Housing Authority or the Housing Society; $50,000 for each FPS licensee with endorsement to sell live poultry in private buildings.
Of the $42 million, around $1.51 million has been reserved to provide ex-gratia payments to local chicken farmers in case the break in the production of chickens in local farms lasts for a period of three months or longer.
"We consider it necessary to reserve the funding to help local chicken farmers meet their routine operating expenses and to alleviate their short-term cashflow problems," the spokesman said.
On February 25, the Government announced a three-month rental waiver for live-poultry wholesalers and retailers operating in AFCD and FEHD markets respectively for those who suspended business for 30 consecutive days or more over this period upon approval by application to AFCD/FEHD and a 50% rental waiver for those who continued operating. Parking fees for lorries parked at designated spaces on a monthly basis for the transportation of live poultry in AFCD's wholesale poultry markets would also be waived. Ex-gratia payments equivalent to $10,000 for those who had suspended business and $5,000 for those who continued operation had also been made to the live-poultry retailers operating in private premises.
"Having considered the request of the live-poultry operators concerned and to tie in with the 2001 package, we intend to lift the requirement for the cessation of business for 30 consecutive days in granting the full rental waiver effective from March 11, 2004 to the live-poultry wholesalers, retailers and poultry transport operators," the spokesman added.
The Government also proposed to retain 20% of the ex-gratia payments until the employers have discharged their responsibilities towards the employees. The retained portion of the ex-gratia payments would be paid to the wholesalers, retailers, transport operators and farmers concerned if they have satisfied either of the following conditions:
a) no labour claim associated with this proposal has been lodged with the Labour Department by their employees within 30 days of approval of this proposal by the Finance Committee; or
b) no labour claim associated with this proposal and lodged with the Labour Department by their employees within the period mentioned in "a)" is unresolved one month after the claim has been lodged.
Ends/Friday, March 26, 2004
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