Latest news with #EnhancedSupplementaryLabourScheme
HKFP
6 days ago
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong company barred from hiring non-local labour after rejecting local applicants
A Hong Kong company has been barred from hiring non-local workers after it was found to have rejected local candidates – the first sanction since the government's scheme was launched two years ago. Amala Ltd was banned from joining the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) for one year after it refused to hire a qualified local applicant during the four-week local recruitment under the scheme, 'without reasonable grounds,' the Labour Department said in a statement on Monday. 'An administrative sanction has been imposed on the company,' the department said, adding that the one-year sanction began on Thursday. It also terminated the processing of Amala's application to hire non-local workers. According to Amala's website, the company provides pest control, deep cleaning, and air purification services. The government reminded employers that they must give priority to employing qualified local workers while applying for non-local hiring schemes. The government introduced the ESLS, one of the schemes for imported workers, around two years ago. The ESLS allows Hong Kong employers to hire non-local workers for 26 types of jobs and unskilled or low-skilled posts with an unlimited quota. Those posts, including cleaners, waiters, dishwashers, cashiers and sales assistants, were previously only open to local residents. As of the end of March, Hong Kong had imported more than 54,000 non-local workers under the ESLS, according to government figures, with most of the employees working in the city's catering industry. Earlier in April, the Eating Establishment Employees General Union said that over 200 employees reported being fired and replaced by non-local workers employed through the ESLS, urging the government to review the imported labour scheme. The government rolled out a hotline in June, asking people to call if they suspect employers are replacing local employees with imported workers amid ongoing complaints about the city's non-local labour schemes.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong pest control firm banned from importing workers over rejecting local
A Hong Kong pest control and cleaning company has been banned from importing foreign workers for a year after it was found to have refused to offer a job to a suitable local candidate first. Advertisement The Labour Department said on Monday that it had imposed an 'administrative sanction' on Amala Limited and would not process its applications for importing workers for one year, with the measure taking effect last Thursday. 'At the same time, the [department] has terminated the processing of an application previously submitted by the company,' a spokesman said. 'An administrative sanction has been imposed on the company, as it earlier refused to employ a qualified local jobseeker during the four-week local recruitment under the [Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme] without reasonable grounds, violating the requirements of local recruitment.' The move marks the first time a business has been penalised for failing to follow the scheme's rules since it was revised two years ago. Advertisement 'The [scheme] stipulates that if an employer violates labour or immigration laws, the requirements of the [scheme] or the standard employment contract, the [department] will impose an administrative sanction on the employer, including the withdrawal of approval for the importation of labour previously granted and refusal to process any subsequent applications submitted by the employer,' the spokesman said.
RTHK
25-07-2025
- 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.
