Press Releases

CSSA provides safety net for the unemployed

The Government is actively examining ways to address the issue of unemployment including the provision of more job opportunities and the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme provides the necessary safety net for the unemployed who have financial needs, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, said today (August 12).

Dr Yeoh met members of the Frontier led by Ms Emily Lau on their proposal to provide unemployment benefits to those who have been unemployed for six months.

Speaking after the meeting, Dr Yeoh said, "I would like to stress that we are still at an early stage of the review on CSSA. The intention of the review is to better target support at those in need, including the unemployed."

Noting the concern expressed by the Frontier at the rising number of jobless people, Dr Yeoh said the Government is equally concerned and in addition to examining ways to provide more job opportunities, the Social Welfare Department has also been striving to help the unemployed CSSA recipients to move towards self-reliance.

"The Support for Self-reliance Scheme, comprising the Active Employment Assistance and the Community Work programmes, was introduced since June 1999 for the purpose," he said.

Financial incentives in the form of allowing able-bodied recipients to retain in full their first month's income for not more than once within two years, and to have part of their income disregarded for the purpose of calculating CSSA benefits in the following months are also active measures in place to provide greater incentive for jobless CSSA recipients to find employment, he added.

Building on the success of the above schemes, Dr Yeoh pointed out that the Social Welfare Department had adopted a more targeted strategy comprising the Intensive Employment Assistance Fund and the Special Job Attachment Programme to promote self-reliance since 2001-02. In addition, there is the Ending Exclusion Project for single parents. These schemes aim at providing more intensive assistance for specific groups of welfare recipients.

At as the end of July 2002, 37,038 jobless were receiving CSSA, representing 14 per cent of a total of 258,085.

Monday, August 12, 2002