Axed employees of Ocean Empire Food Shop are urging its owners to address the issues of unpaid wages, pension and severance payments after the local congee restaurant chain closed all its outlets and ceased operations after 33 years in business earlier this week in one fell swoop.

The Eating Establishment Employees General Union organised a consultation meeting on Friday afternoon to clarify any questions that the sacked staff may have about their rights and offer assistance.

Among the ex-staff in attendance was Yau, who oversaw the restaurant chain’s production line.

She said the line had lost half its staff over the past three years.

She said the company had been doing badly for quite some time, with suppliers visiting the office weeks before the closure asking for payments.

“Why are the owners doing this to workers who gave everything to Ocean Empire?” she spoke with raw feelings

“Many of us worked here for over 30 years and were not even given a few months of pension," Yau said amid complaints by some staff who said the company had deducted mandatory provident fund (MPF) contributions from salaries but had not paid them to the workers' schemes.

"We have spent decades, the best years of our lives, serving the company, but the owners just disappeared irresponsibly.”

Another former employee, Li, said her last month’s salary and MPF payments are overdue.

She said she was disappointed with Hong Kong’s employment protections after coming from Guangdong to work here for just one year.

The union’s chief secretary, Wong Pit-man, said the union will work closely with the Labour Department on follow-up actions.

Senior manager Jackie Lee from the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority also attended the meeting, and pledged to help workers recover the unpaid MPF contributions.

He noted that the company has about HK$570,000 in overdue MPF contributions for all its staff between January and March.

Meanwhile, the founders of the now-defunct chain, Siu Chor-kee and Choi Wing-hoe, said in a statement the company began winding down on Friday and pledged to cooperate with the government in handling the aftermath.

The pair said they had no choice but to shut down the business due to an "extremely severe" operating environment, and insisted Ocean Empire had always fulfilled its corporate responsibilities in the past 33 years.

As of Friday evening, the Labour Department said nearly 100 staff members had sought help over issues including outstanding wages, amounting to more than HK$15 million.
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Last updated: 2025-05-09 HKT 22:07