About 40 people marched to the SAR government headquarters yesterday to call for a revival of a HK$600 transport subsidy scheme for the lowly paid who have to travel long distances to work.
Led by protesters simulating a dragon boat race, others waved placards with the names of the four districts that used to enjoy the Labour Department's subsidy scheme. They then left traditional Chinese rice dumplings with their petition on the gate to the government offices.

Launched in June 2007, the scheme provided a HK$600 monthly transportation allowance every year to workers living in Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, North and Islands districts.

The scheme was restricted to those with personal assets of no more than HK$44,000 and monthly incomes of HK$6,500 and below.

According to the Labour and Welfare Bureau, more than 35,000 low-income workers claimed the allowance in full and nearly all those eligible stopped receiving the subsidy more than a year ago.

But the protesters, citing Census and Statistics Department figures, said MTR fares have gone up by 2.05 percent while wages in low-level industries like food and manufacturing fell year on year by between 0.4 percent and 4.4 percent in December.

"I only spend a few hundred dollars on food every month to save money to support my three kids," said Ho Lan-ying, a single mother.

She makes HK$6,000 per month but spends HK$700 on commuting, almost as much as she spends on meals.

Law Pui-shan, policy research officer for Hong Kong Catholic Commission for Labour Affairs, said the government should revive the scheme and publish its evaluation report as soon as possible, as well as relax the eligibility criteria.