Transport subsidy forms out next Thursday; applications open 3 October

Forms go out on 22 September, but the review timetable for the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy is already disputed: the government set a mid-term review one year in, while unions — pointing to minimum-wage distortions — want one after three months.

How do you apply for the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy?

1. From 22 September, pick up a form at 72 locations (including the new subsidy office on Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, plus job centres and Home Affairs and Social Welfare offices) or download it online.
2. Apply from 3 October; each application covers up to 12 months of subsidy.
3. After vetting, subsidies are paid by autopay.
4. The first lump sum — up to HK$3,600 for six months at the full rate — arrives by the end of 2011 at the earliest.

Amounts, eligibility and asset tests

Full-time workers get HK$600 a month; those working 36–72 hours get half, HK$300. The HK$6,500 one-person income cap is net of MPF contributions — someone earning HK$6,824 still qualifies. The government’s HK$6,000 handout doesn’t count as an asset, though it will if still unspent after a year.

The lag dispute: wage benchmarks trail the minimum wage

Grassroots wages rose 9.7% year on year in the second quarter after the minimum wage took effect. The labour chief admitted the scheme was designed on wage data from the second quarter of the previous year — lags are unavoidable when wages move — but said it must launch now, with a mid-term review after one year and a full review after three, or earlier if problems arise. Benefit levels assumed typical transport costs of about HK$300 for local trips and HK$400–500 cross-district.

Union: the cap should be HK$8,000

The chairman of the manpower panel and general secretary of the HKCTU argued that at 10–11 hours a day, six days a week, a fair cap would be HK$8,000; once applications flow in, the government can see how many fall out of the net — so a review after three months is warranted.