The Labour Department will prosecute Sing Pao for wage offences under the Employment Ordinance, Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung says.

Speaking to the press this afternoon, Mr Cheung said 65 Sing Pao employees have filed claims with the department. Eight of them have been settled and 19 cases have been referred to the Labour Tribunal.

The department will continue to provide conciliation service for the remaining employees, he said.

Conciliation details

A conciliation meeting was arranged for the remaining employees on Tuesday and the employer had agreed to settle the outstanding wages within this month.

It was noted that the employer had issued cheques to settle the outstanding wages for March on Wednesday and some 50 cheques will be given to claimants through the department.

Mr Cheung reiterated the Government attaches great importance to wage offences and has tightened the penalty for those offences.

Insolvency fund

Speaking on the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, Mr Cheung said there were 2,296 applications for the fund in the first four months, down 38% over the same period last year. Applications from the catering sector dropped 73% to 520.

During the period, a total of $45.8 million was disbursed from the fund, down 30% over the same period last year. At the end of April, the fund recorded an accumulated surplus of $444 million.