Govt subsidy to attract women to work again: Sun
Labour and welfare minister Chris Sun on Sunday said he hopes a future government initiative that offers subsidies to people aged 40 and over returning to the job market will attract more women into the workforce. Under the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme, those working six months in a row, after not being employed for three months, could receive a HK$10,000 subsidy. Those who work a year will get HK$10,000 more. But Sun told an RTHK programme the scheme will not be rolled out just yet. "It will take some time because we are fixing the details. But the aim is to attract people, especially women, because we see that women aged between 40 and 59 have a much lower labour force participation rate than men," he said. The official said authorities are also stepping up child care services to help women go back into the job market. Separately, Sun said care teams - set up by the administration to serve the community - will visit elderly people living in subdivided flats on their own. "If they have difficulties and there is no one to help them, the care teams can refer them to social welfare organisations." Sun said authorities plan to set up more communal facilities for those living in sub-divided flats to take a shower and do their laundry, after launching the first Community Living Room in Sham Shui Po last month.