The Labour Department will spare no effort to mediate and settle the dispute arising from the closure of Ocean Palace Restaurant in the next 48 hours, and will help employees to get ex-gratia payments as soon as possible if they must resort to the Protection of Wages & Insolvency Fund, Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung says.

Speaking in a radio talk show this morning, Mr Cheung said the department will continue to urge the restaurant employers to fulfill their statutory obligations and pay the wages and other entitlements to their employees.

Failing that, the department has been prepared to help employees to register Monday at the Mong Kok office so as to speed up their applications for ex-gratia payments, a process that takes about five weeks, he added.

Blacklisting irresponsible employers

Mr Cheung said within the next two weeks, he will convene an inter-departmental meeting comprising representatives from the Police, Labour Department, Official Receiver's Office and Legal Aid Department to review the case and suggest long-term solutions that will balance the interests of both the employers and employees.

He said he has already discussed with Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow a proposal to blacklist those restaurant owners that applied for insolvency frequently so that the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department can make reference to the list in granting new licences.

Mr Cheung said legal advice on such a proposal is being sought.

Win-win proposal

He said another more pragmatic proposal is to demand restaurants make a deposit at the start of business so as to pay for employees' compensation in case of insolvency. The Protection of Wages & Insolvency Fund would then cover any shortfall.

Mr Cheung described this as a win-win proposal because the deposit would be returned to the owners if the business closes normally. He stressed this would not be in the form of a mandatory payment to a pool which can turn into 'responsible employers compensating irresponsible ones'.

He said measures to protect employees' interests should not be too harsh to employers to avoid adverse effects on the business environment.