22 Sept 2023法庭線#8400
Zeek被追薪 兩送貨員申索逾7萬元勝訴 公司方續缺席聆訊
The operating company of online logistics platform Zeek (Zebra) has again faced claims for unpaid wages. Two delivery workers each claimed more than $70,000. The two cases were heard at the Labour Tribunal on Friday (22nd), with no company representative present.
The adjudicator ruled in favour of the delivery worker in the first case and ordered the company to pay more than $30,000 in unpaid wages. In the other case, involving a truck driver, the adjudicator said the company had “submitted no defence documents and did not even attend the hearing”. The driver was also ruled to have been in an employment relationship with the company and to have won the case, with the company ordered to pay more than $30,000 in unpaid wages.
網上物流平台 Zeek（斑馬）的營運公司，再被入稟追討欠薪。兩名送貨員分別索償逾 7 萬元，兩案周五（22 日）在勞資審裁處聆訊，公司代表缺席。
審裁官裁定首案送貨員勝訴，公司須賠償逾 3 萬元欠薪。至於另一案的貨車司機，審裁官稱公司「沒有呈交任何辯護文件，甚至沒有出席聆訊」，裁定司機勝訴，與公司存僱傭關係，公司須賠償逾 3 萬元欠薪。
8 Aug 2023集誌社#8158
蘋果停運｜蘋果資金被凍逾兩年 33前員工入稟勞審追 247萬元欠薪勝訴
Apple Daily has been closed for more than two years, while its funds, frozen in 2021 by then Secretary for Security John Lee under the National Security Law, remain frozen. Thirty-four former Apple Daily employees filed claims with the Labour Tribunal against Apple Daily Limited for unpaid wages, payment in lieu of notice, paid annual leave and year-end remuneration. The case was heard at the Labour Tribunal today (the 8th), with no company representative present. Thirty-three claimants were ruled successful, with claims totalling HK$2.474 million. One claimant was questioned by the adjudicator over whether he was an employee or self-employed, and ultimately withdrew his claim.
《蘋果日報》停運逾兩年、資金在 2021年，被時任保安局局長李家超按《港區國安法》凍結至今，仍未「解封」。 34 名前《蘋果》員工入稟勞資審裁處，向「蘋果日報有限公司」申索欠薪、代通知金、有薪年假及年終酬金等。案件今日（ 8 日）在勞審處提訊，公司無代表出席。 33 名申索人被裁定勝訴，申索金額合共 247.4 萬元。一名申索人被審裁官質疑屬僱員或自僱，他最終撤回申索。
28 Jul 2023法庭線#8095
前《蘋果》高級編輯入稟追討17.4萬元欠薪
A former senior editor of Apple Daily filed a claim for more than HK$174,000 in wages, annual leave pay and year-end remuneration. The case was heard at the Labour Tribunal on Friday (28th). The company’s representative was absent, and the tribunal held an ex parte hearing for the claimant.
Adjudicator Vivian Wai Wan Lee said bailiffs had served the documents at the company’s registered address earlier this year, with none returned. The adjudicator also confirmed that neither the tribunal nor the claimant had received a defence or related materials from Apple Daily.
In the ruling, the adjudicator said the claimant had submitted documentary evidence sufficient to establish the case, while Apple Daily had not paid the claimant the amounts stated on the payslips and related documents. The tribunal will issue an order requiring Apple Daily to pay the relevant amount, unless Apple Daily’s representative applies to have the order set aside.
一名前《蘋果日報》高級編輯入稟申索工資、年假、年終酬金等逾 17.4 萬元，案件周五（ 28 日）在勞資審裁處提訊，公司代表缺席，法庭為申索人進行單方面聆訊。
審裁官李慧雲指，本年初已有執達吏將文件送達公司註冊地址，沒有文件被退回，亦確認審裁處及申索方均沒有從《蘋果》收到答辯書及相關資料。
審裁官裁決時指，接納申索方已提交能確立案情的證明文件，而《蘋果》未有按糧單及相關文件上的金額繳付予申索人。法庭將頒下命令，要求《蘋果》向申訴人繳付相關金額，除非《蘋果》有代表申請有關命令作廢。
11 Jul 2023法庭線#7962
「Zeek」案首確立平台與送貨司機僱傭關係 翻查3大外賣平台資料 皆視外賣員為自僱
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, online logistics and food-delivery platforms have flourished, with foodpanda, Deliveroo and KeeTa (Meituan) entering Hong Kong. A review of website and other information found that the three food-delivery platforms respectively referred to couriers as a “self-employed delivery group”, “self-employed suppliers” and participants in a “new self-employed delivery group scheme”.
The Labour Tribunal earlier ruled that logistics platform Zeek had an employment relationship with six delivery drivers, and ordered the company to pay severance pay, unpaid wages and other sums. A member of Riders' Rights Concern Group, Tak Ching Mak, said the case was the first ruling concerning platform workers and had significant reference value. One rider said work-related accidents occurred frequently, but workers had no labour protection, and urged the industry’s “bogus self-employment” problem to be addressed.
In response to inquiries from The Witness, foodpanda said it had always regarded delivery partners as indispensable partners, actively responded to their views and studied ways to make improvements. Deliveroo and KeeTa had not responded by press time. The Labour Department said it attached great importance to the issue of digital platforms; in addition to studying relevant policies overseas, it was also attempting to collect data on platform workers.
疫情至今，網上物流及外賣平台大行其道， foodpanda、Deliveroo、KeeTa（美團）等進駐香港。翻查網站等資料，3 個外賣平台分別提及外賣員為「自僱送遞團體」、「自僱形式供應商」及提供「全新送遞團體自僱計劃」。
勞資審裁處早前裁定物流平台「Zeek」與 6 名送貨司機為僱傭關係，公司須賠償遣散費、欠薪等。「外賣員權益關注組」成員麥德正指，該案為首宗針對平台勞工的裁決，具重大參考價值。有車手則指，工作意外頻生，卻沒勞工保障，促請正視業內「假自僱」問題。
foodpanda 回覆《法庭線》查詢指，一直視送遞團體為不可或缺的夥伴，積極回應他們的意見，研究改善方案。Deliveroo 及 KeeTa 於截稿前未有回覆。勞工處則指，十分重視數碼平台議題，除了研究外地相關政策，亦正嘗試收集平台工作者的數據。
11 Jul 2023法庭線#7963
物流平台「Zeek」司機追薪勝訴 首案確立僱傭關係 關注組：僱主曾提官「你小心啲判」
In August 2021, amid the pandemic in Hong Kong, a woman in her 30s, identified by the pseudonym “表姐”, found a relatively well-paid job as a fixed-route driver for logistics platform Zeek. She delivered goods around the city for 12 to 14 hours a day and earned $60,000 to $70,000 a month. It was only after her wages were withheld last year that she discovered she was considered “self-employed”, despite wearing a uniform and making deliveries every day.
She said she had entered the industry “to make money”, had not signed a contract and had not considered labour protections. After her wages were withheld, she met an officer from the Labour Department, “did her homework” and appeared in court. This year, a Labour Tribunal adjudicator ruled in her favour in Hong Kong’s first case establishing an employment relationship between a logistics platform and a driver. The court ordered the employer to pay more than $190,000, but she said she had not received a single cent to date.
“After all this time, it turns out [the employer] doesn’t have to pay compensation out of its own pocket ... and the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund won’t pay the full amount,” she said with a bitter smile. She said delivery drivers generally had “insufficient education and awareness”. Although the employer had not been made legally liable, she still hoped the victory would help drivers across the industry secure statutory employee rights and protections, such as annual leave.
A member of Riders' Rights Concern Group, Tak Ching Mak, said “bogus self-employment” was common in the industry. This was reflected in what the employer told the adjudicator in court in the present case: “Your ruling will have a major impact on the entire industry, so be careful how you rule.” The member said more than 100 Zeek drivers were still pursuing unpaid wages, and believed the case had “significant reference value” for the operations of other food-delivery and logistics platforms.
2021 年 8 月疫情籠罩香港，不少人「為兩餐」煩惱，30 多歲的表姐（化名）卻找到了一份較高薪工作 —— 物流平台「Zeek」的定線司機。她每日做 12 至 14 小時四圍送貨，月入 6 至 7 萬元。直至去年被拖糧，才發現每天穿起制服派件的自己，原來是「自僱人士」。
她坦言當初入行「為搵錢」、沒簽合約，亦沒想過勞工保障。被拖糧後，她約見勞工處主任、「做足功課」上庭，今年獲勞資審裁官裁定勝訴，是本港首宗確立物流平台與司機為僱傭關係的案件。法庭裁定僱主須賠逾 19 萬元，不過表姐指至今沒收到一分錢。
「搞咗咁耐，原來佢又唔係自己扲荷包賠錢 ... 破欠（基金）又攞唔足」，表姐苦笑，她指送貨司機這行業「學歷、認知唔夠」，雖然僱主沒法律責任「上身」，仍盼今次勝訴能為整體同行爭取到年假等法定僱員權利和保障。
「外賣員權益關注組」成員麥德正指，「假自僱」於行內常見，正如本案僱主在庭上向審裁官所指，「你個判決係好影響成個行業㗎，你小心啲判啊」。他透露，現時仍有逾百名「Zeek」司機正追薪，又認為本案對其他外賣或物流平台的營運有「重大參考價值」。
11 Jul 2023獨媒#7966
百宗追薪案待訊 Zeek管理公司遭清盤 代表曾言「無錢」
Some “fixed-route drivers” in Zeek wage claims have won their cases, but whether they can receive full compensation remains unknown. According to court records, Kin Shun Information Technology Management Limited, one of the companies named as defendants in the unpaid-wages cases, has been served with a winding-up petition filed by another company. The case is scheduled for a hearing on July 19. Tak Ching Mak, an officer of the Christian Industrial Committee, said 30 Zeek drivers had sought assistance, and around 100 Zeek-related hearings are currently scheduled.
Zeek追薪案有「定線司機」獲判勝訴，不過可否拿足賠償，仍是未知數。根據法庭資料，欠薪案被告公司之一「建順資訊科技管理有限公司」被另一公司入稟申請清盤，案件排期在7月19日聆訊。基督教工業委員會幹事麥德正透露，有30名Zeek的司機求助，現時約有100宗與Zeek的聆訊正在排期。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
