Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, on adjusting the eligible age for elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) after attending radio programmes this morning (January 26):
Reporter: Could you please briefly clarify whether elderly people would be punished and deducted from the allowances when they are reluctant to find jobs?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: For those who are 60 to 64 who are healthy and those who are able to go out to work, we will try our very best to encourage them to work. The minimum requirement basically is to meet our – what we call the Integrated Employment Assistance Programme for Self-reliance under the CSSA Scheme – (requirement) to see the social workers so that they can help them to find jobs. That requirement is quite minimal. Basically, they are only required to see the social worker once every two months. If they fail to do so without any reasonable excuses for not being able to do that, there will be a deduction of $200. That is only very nominal and symbolic. We just want people to know that we would try our very best to help them. There is no particular reason for actually punishing them. It is basically very symbolic.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
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