Latest news with #EnhancedSupplementaryLabourScheme
RTHK
4 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
Higher quota call as 3,000 imported guards make grade
Higher quota call as 3,000 imported guards make grade Wong Hiu-kwan says security guards brought in under the import scheme have helped cut costs at her housing estate by up to 20 percent. Photo: RTHK Chen Zhiyuan is among the imported security guards at a private housing estate. Photo: RTHK A property-services sector representative on Friday urged the government to raise the quota for imported labour in the industry, saying it is plagued by an ageing workforce. Since the launch of the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme two years ago, the government has given the green light for the sector to fill more than 3,000 posts with non-local labour as of the end of last month. About two-thirds have arrived. Poon Kin-leung, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Property Services Agents, said the sector used to face a manpower shortage of 40 percent. "Even with the import of labour so far, we are still facing a manpower shortage of 15 percent," he said. "For private housing estates, if a person walks in and applies for a security guard position, we will mostly hire him. There is a shortage every day. "For janitors and security guards, many of them are retiring, and it's difficult to get newcomers. Locals who come forward are definitely older ones. So I think we need to do more to import labour. Even a 20 percent increase in quota isn't too much." Chen Zhiyuan from Guangdong is among those working as a security guard in a private housing estate since early this year. He noted that there were cultural differences as well as language barriers with residents, so he would turn to senior staff for help and attend training classes to help him with the job. The estate applied to join the scheme after failing to fill vacancies with local job ads. Wong Hiu-kwan from the estate's property management company said imported staff have helped to cut costs by up to 20 percent. She also said locals and imported workers can complement each other. For instance, younger imported staff could be responsible for patrolling, as many local staff are aged over 60. With the scheme coming to an end in September, the Labour Department said it is carrying out a review to enhance the programme, including safeguarding employment priority for locals, as well as measures to ensure foreign workers' rights and interests.
RTHK
13-07-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Labour import scheme needs to continue: Chris Sun
Labour import scheme needs to continue: Chris Sun Chris Sun rejected a fresh call from trade unionist Bill Tang to suspend the importation of catering workers. File photo: RTHK Labour Minister Chris Sun on Sunday rejected fresh calls to suspend the importation of workers, saying there was an acute labour shortage in many sectors. This came after trade unionist lawmaker Bill Tang said imported labour for the catering sector should be suspended as many locals were concerned about their jobs. Speaking on a TVB programme, Sun said the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme already ensured that locals got priority, as employers can only import workers if they are unable to hire a local after a four-week recruitment exercise. The minister told reporters the government had received more than a hundred complaints of employers sacking locals after hiring imported labour but that, so far, initial evidence suggested there had been just two such cases. "Because we're talking about initial evidence, we cannot implement executive sanctions right away. We need to give the employers time to explain their case to us," Sun said. "But given the evidence, we have put them on our watch list, which means their ongoing import applications have been suspended." Sun said if the violations are substantiated, the authorities will impose sanctions "without hesitation". That means all import applications for the employer concerned will be withdrawn and the employer won't be able to apply to import workers for two years. Meanwhile, the minister said in another related case, an initial probe had found that an employer had refused to hire a local during the four-week recruitment period. Sun said the authorities are now waiting for the employer's reply.
RTHK
05-07-2025
- Business
- RTHK
No plans to halt labour import scheme, says Chis Sun
No plans to halt labour import scheme, says Chis Sun The Labour and Welfare secretary says the government has a rigorous vetting process for handling labour import applications. Photo: RTHK Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun on Saturday said that there are measures in place to protect local workers as he was questioned about a government scheme to import labour. Appearing on an RTHK radio programme, Sun was asked whether he would consider setting a threshold under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme in sectors such as catering, which recently saw its jobless rate reach 5.7 percent. The recent closures of bakery chain Taipan and restaurant chain Super Star have also resulted in hundreds of workers being laid off. Speaking to reporters after the programme, Sun said the catering sector typically had high turnover rates. He also said the government has a rigorous vetting process when it comes to applications to import labour, saying employers have to recruit locally for four weeks. 'For every local worker going to an interview, even if he or she is not employed, we're going to call him up. So we'll give him a call from the Labour Department to make sure that he's not mistreated.' He also said there was a complaint system for local workers who feel they are being unfairly treated, as well as inspections to make sure employers meet a ratio requirement for full-time local employees to imported workers.
RTHK
28-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
'Consider halting labour imports for certain sectors'
'Consider halting labour imports for certain sectors' Lam Chun-sing says the government could set a quota for the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme depending on unemployment figures. Photo: RTHK A trade unionist lawmaker on Saturday suggested that officials should consider pausing labour imports for certain industries, as more locals are losing their jobs after the shuttering of multiple companies. These closures involved bakery chain Taipan which ceased operations after more than four decades on Tuesday, as well as local congee chain Ocean Empire Food Shop after operating for 33 years. Lam Chun-sing, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions told reporters after a Commercial Radio programme that the government could set a quota for the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme depending on unemployment figures, to give locals the priority. "We don't want to see a situation [where] our unemployment rate increases and also we continue to import more and more labour. So we hope that maybe the government can collect more information on different job categories," he said. "If [in] those job categories, the unemployment rate is very high and the number of job vacancies [is] reduced, then the government may set a limit or a ceiling or suspend the labour importation scheme in a specific job category." Lam also suggested the government to roll out various measures such as a tax allowance to encourage employers to recruit elderly workers as part of its bid to promote the silver economy.
RTHK
25-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Labour chief upbeat on hitting talent retention target
Labour chief upbeat on hitting talent retention target Around 10,000 talent visas granted in the past few years are set to expire by the end of June, and the labour chief says renewal figures will be published in the coming months. Photo: RTHK Authorities are going all out to lure talent from all over the world, the labour chief says, adding global uncertainties make Hong Kong an even more attractive place for professionals to develop their careers. Chris Sun also expressed optimism that many people who arrived in the SAR through various talent schemes in the past few years will stay, and that the government will meet its retention target. Chief Executive John Lee stressed in his Policy Address last year the importance of retaining talent. He set a target of extending at least 50,000 talent visas annually from 2025 to 2027. In an interview with RTHK, Sun said while he was confident of achieving that goal, actual figures would have to be provided later. "Our preliminary estimates suggest that by the end of the second quarter, around 10,000 visas would expire and require renewal," he said, referring to visas approved under the Top Talent Scheme. "We will provide actual data in the second half of this year, but overall speaking we are satisfied with the situation." On a related note, the government is also introducing from the end of this month a new entry pathway for skilled workers from the mainland. Called the technical professionals stream, it targets people working in specific sectors, and applicants must be 40 or younger. A cap of 10,000 is set for the three-year pilot programme, and 3,000 for each trade. Sun believes the quota for information technology technicians could be filled up quickly, but it was too early to say if the cap should be raised. "We should let the scheme run its course first. Of course there is a shortage of technicians in Hong Kong. We expect a manpower shortage of 180,000 by 2028, of those one third will be skilled technical workers. Existing workers are also getting old, and it is a serious problem," he said. As for general workers coming through the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme, Sun revealed around 60,000 applications have been approved so far. About one in six hires were waiters, while another 6,900 applications were seeking junior chefs. He insisted there are sufficient safeguards to protect local employment, and urged people who believe they have been treated unfairly to come forward, pledging all complaints will be taken seriously.
