Apple Daily shut down｜Nearly three years after closure, some former employees finally receive insolvency compensation
蘋果停運｜停刊近三年 部分前員工終獲破欠補償金
Apple Daily, which ceased publication nearly three years ago and had its funds frozen by the government, had been unable to provide employees even with compensation from the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund because no creditor had applied to wind up the company. Last Friday, two creditors filed a petition seeking an order to wind up Apple Daily Limited. The Collective learned that, from Tuesday (16th), some former employees had finally begun receiving payments from the fund. In response to enquiries from The Collective, the Labour Department confirmed that it was disbursing ex gratia payments from the fund to former employees because employees had filed a winding-up petition against Apple Daily Limited. However, the compensation represents only a small part of the back pay owed. The Collective found that at least 72 former Apple Daily employees have so far won claims for unpaid wages, involving more than HK$5.44 million. But the fund has a payment cap, meaning the former employees received only part of the amounts owed. One former Apple Daily employee said the money was wages they were entitled to, and that the Security Bureau could theoretically unfreeze some of Apple Daily’s funds to pay them. But after waiting so long to receive the money through the fund, the employee asked: “How is this any different from punishing the employees?”
停刊近三年、資金被政府凍結的《蘋果日報》，因一直沒債權人申請清盤，員工連破欠基金發的補償金也取不到。上周五，有兩名債權人入稟，要求頒令蘋果日報有限公司清盤。《集誌社》獲悉，本周二（ 16 日）起，終於有部分員工開始獲發破欠基金補償金。勞工處回覆《集誌社》查詢時，確認由於有僱員向「蘋果日報有限公司」提出清盤呈請，正向前員工發放破欠基金的特惠款項。 不過這份補償金，只佔追薪的一小部分。《集誌社》統計，至今最少有 72 名《蘋果》前員工追薪勝訴，涉款逾 544 萬元。但破欠基金有上限，前員工只獲發還部分款項。有《蘋果》前員工直言，這筆是應得的人工，保安局理論上可解凍《蘋果》部分資金再出糧，但現要隔這麼長時間，才經破欠基金收到款項，反問「同懲罰員工有咩分別？」