Several restaurants under the Asia-Pacific Catering Group suddenly closed recently. Huang Biwen, secretary-general of the Catering Trade Unions Federation under the Federation of Trade Unions, said on the Hong Kong and Taiwan program “Millennium” that more than 100 employees were affected, involving more than 5 million yuan. They are mainly owed 6 months’ salary and one month’s notice in lieu of payment. In addition, many employees find that their employers have not made MPF contributions to them for many months.
Huang Biwen said that the incident involved a total of 9 restaurants of 3 brands of the group, and the union has so far failed to successfully contact the employer. Huang Biwen pointed out that the recent epidemic has eased, and the business of the catering industry has rebounded. Workers also believe that there are no signs of closing beforehand. Huang Biwen estimates that the closure of the restaurant may not be related to business problems, and may also involve disputes between shareholders.
Huang Biwen also said that the day before the closing, a person who claimed to be a shareholder went to the restaurant to express the news of the closing to the employees. He once said that he would attend the employee’s grievance meeting, but he did not appear in the end. Huang Biwen hopes that the shareholder can come forward again. If he shows up and declares that he is unable to repay the money, it will be easier for the employees to apply for the arrears fund and recover the arrears. Huang Biwen also pointed out that if he can’t find an employer in the end, he has to file a record with the Labour Department and go to the Labour Tribunal for a hearing, and apply for a loan repayment fund. It is estimated that it will take a whole year for employees to get the money. The team handles this incident.
The affected employee, Mr. Leung, also stated in the program that he worked in one of the restaurants under the group and worked for more than a year since its opening. Mr. Liang said that he received a notice on the evening of the 29th that the restaurant would be closed the next day. Mr. Liang pointed out that the company did not apply for the “employment protection plan” and tried to pay out 1 or 2 days later than the original date every month, but the employees didn’t care. Mr. Liang hopes that some shareholders can come forward to explain the incident, and if they show that they cannot repay the money, the employees can turn to apply for the debt-breaking fund to get the money back.