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The Finance Committee today (July 2) endorsed a government proposal to fund a $329 million incentive package as ex-gratia payments to live poultry retailers who opt to surrender their licences or tenancies, as loans to live poultry retailers who continue their operation and as retraining and one-off grants to assist affected workers in the live poultry retail trade.

Of the $329 million, $236.4 million would be the one-off ex-gratia payments to live poultry retailers who opt to surrender their licences with endorsement to sell live poultry or public market tenancies.

The Government had proposed on May 25 to provide ex-gratia payments to retailers calculated on the basis of 39 months' average rental of live poultry stalls at public markets with particular reference to the ex-gratia payments for the resumption of stalls in the Central Market.

Under the revised proposed package, the ex-gratia payments for small-sized retail outlets up to 15 square metres is set at a flat rate of $200,000, an enhanced rate 60 per cent higher than the normal basis.

For retail outlets with sizes between 15 square metres and 25 square metres, the enhanced rate is 10 per cent whereas larger sized outlets over 45 square metres, a ceiling of 55 square metres has been set.

The revised proposal was made after considering the views of the Legislative Council's Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene and the need for early implementation of the policy of separating humans from live poultry at the retail level, a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said.

"To tie in with our policy to reduce the number of live poultry stalls, we will in future limit the transfer of fresh provision shop licences to immediate family members, i.e. parents, spouses and offspring so as to avoid the sale of such licences.

"For those stallholders leasing live poultry stalls in public markets who submit an ex-gratia payment application, we will also waive the one-month advance notice requirement for the termination of market tenancies provided they have ceased the live poultry retail business from the ex-gratia payment application date and the tenancy termination will take effect within 30 days from the application date," the spokesman said.

Tailor-made retraining and financial assistance totalling $83 million would be provided to live poultry retail workers as a result of their employers ceasing operation under the proposed scheme.

Up to eight weeks of retraining courses tailor-made for the affected live poultry workers would be provided within a six-month period from the date of cessation of business by their former employers. Workers could receive a special allowance of up to $8,000 if they have attended eight weeks of retraining courses and have attained at least 80 per cent attendance in each of the retraining courses.

For those affected workers who continue to remain unemployed after attending the retraining courses within a six-month period from the date of cessation of business by their former employers, a one-off grant of $10,000 per affected worker will be provided to assist them to meet their immediate financial needs.

To encourage employers to fulfill their obligations to their employees but without interfering in any employer-employee relationship, the Government proposed to retain 30 per cent of the ex-gratia payment till the employers have discharged their responsibilities towards the employees.

Loan facilities would be offered to all existing fresh provision shops selling live poultry who choose to continue with the their trading operations to upgrade their facilities to avoid human contacts with live poultry.

The Government proposed to set the maximum amount of the proposed unsecured loan to $50,000 or 60 per cent of the refurbishment costs, whichever was less, per licence.

Licensees operating in public housing estates would not be offered such loans in case Housing Authority/Housing Society were to fund the improvement works to upgrade the live poultry stalls.

Ends/Friday, July 2, 2004

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