Hong Kong’s Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) on Saturday urged the Hong Kong government to ease border restrictions with places such as Macau and Guangdong, in a bid to revive Hong Kong’s economy and save jobs, public broadcaster RTHK reported.
FTU Secretary General Wong Kwok was quoted as saying that Hong Kong workers in the hotel, transport, travel, retail and catering industries have been hit hard by the entry restrictions.
He said closing the borders for a long period of time was seriously undermining Hong Kong’s economic activities and worsening the plight of citizens who are out of jobs.
“Many workers in the travel industry have been jobless for half a year. Some rely on taking cash advances from their credit cards,” RTHK quoted him as saying.
“Staff in the hotel and catering sectors have been forced to take months of no-pay leave,” he said.
He said while strict border controls should remain in place against countries or regions where the novel coronavirus epidemic has not subsided, restrictions should be eased with places where the situation has improved such as in Macau and Guangdong.
He suggested the government to set up quick-testing centres at the control points, or let people with health proofs be exempted from quarantine and testing.
He urged the authorities to liaise with their counterparts in Macau and Guangdong.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
