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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, on the wage claims by employees of DSC today (August 15):
Reporter: Mr Cheung, would you please give us an update on DSC? How have the employees been helped? What's the next step right now?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: For DSC, there has been some helpful development because the proprietor in fact has sought the court's approval of compulsory winding-up. So what's going to happen next is the Labour Department will proactively follow up and approach the provisional liquidator (if appointed) on Monday, and urging the provisional liquidator to co-operate fully, particularly in terms of providing wage records and also verifying the amount of outstanding wages owed to individual employees. Once everything is established, the department can then activate the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund and in fact start handing out the ex-gratia payment to the employees as soon as possible. So I would say that the things should be making good progress but it much depends on whether the provisional liquidator can provide all the wage records and also verify the records quickly.
Reporter: Do you think it can speed up the process or the steps?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: We will certainly speed up the process. In fact, as I said, it much depends on when the liquidator provides us with the verified records. Once the records have been established, we will certainly activate the fund procedure and make available the ex-gratia payment as quickly as possible.
Reporter: (About employees' cases in the Labour Tribunal.)
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: We have fast tracked the procedures. In fact, on the coming Friday, hearing will be scheduled for the first batch of employees to approach the Labour Tribunal. We will do the best we can to expedite the process in the interest of the employees concerned.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Saturday, August 15, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:03
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