Latest news with #FederationofTradeUnions
RTHK
2 hours ago
- Health
- RTHK
Public 'mostly unaware of new hospital fee exemptions'
Public 'mostly unaware of new hospital fee exemptions' The FTU conducted a survey, garnering over 700 responses, to gauge public understanding of the new upcoming healthcare charges. Photo: RTHK The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) said on Friday there is an urgent need for increased public awareness of what the processes surrounding the new healthcare charges to be levied next year involve. The reforms will see fee adjustments across a spectrum of public services, including accident and emergency wards, hospital stays and consultations at specialist and family medicine outpatient clinics, phased in over three stages starting on January 1. To gauge public understanding of these changes, the FTU conducted a survey from April 22 to May 13, garnering more than 700 responses. FTU lawmaker Bill Tang said that while most respondents knew about the fee increases, very few were aware of the enhanced fee exemption mechanism, signalling a need for more promotional efforts. "The government should actively [give] them the information," he said. For example, Tang said, they give patients leaflets to clearly tell them which criteria fits the new scheme. Also, he said, "the 'HA Go' [mobile app] is now more and more welcome among patients, so 'HA Go' should be a very good way to promote the new scheme of fee exemptions. "The government should [make] good use of the network of the local medical centres and district counsellors to promote the new fee exemption scheme together." Tang said more than a million people in the SAR should qualify for the enhanced exemptions. He also urged an earlier opening of applications to align with implementation of the reforms and reduce administrative delays. He further suggested expanding automatic medical fee waivers for Old Age Living Allowance recipients aged 75 or above to those aged 65 or above, saying this would ease the processing burden on healthcare staff while extending support to more seniors.
RTHK
4 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
Mixed reactions to expansion of labour import scheme
Mixed reactions to expansion of labour import scheme A unionist said local technicians are worried too many imported workers will come to Hong Kong. File photo: RTHK A trade unionist on Monday said the government should make adjustments to an expanded labour import scheme to ensure local people get priority for jobs, while others welcomed the prospect of more skilled workers moving to the SAR. A three-year trial scheme covering eight types of workers including nurses, lift technicians and AI specialists will start at the end of this month. A total of 10,000 non-degree holders will be able to move to the territory for work, with a cap of 3,000 for each job type. A vice chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, Lam Wai-kong, said on an RTHK programme that some people are concerned about their jobs as they think 3,000 is too much. "I think that each role's quota should be set at a certain percentage of local workers in that particular field," Lam said. "The quota should be set at less than five percent of the roles' workforce, say, for lift and escalator technicians, that would be around several hundred workers, and existing technicians wouldn't be too worried." Lam also expressed concern that incoming nurses wouldn't fill a shortage at care homes for the elderly because they might switch to medical roles elsewhere after a while. The Labour Advisory Board member went on to say that officials consulted the board around 10 days before last week's announcement of the trial scheme and not a lot of unions were able to take part in the process. On the same programme, the head of an aviation business chamber welcomed the scheme's expansion as it covers aircraft maintenance workers. Vivian Lau, president of the Airline Service Providers Association, said while some 600 workers have been imported in the sector in recent years, there remains a shortage with language ability one of the considerations for new staff. She expressed the hope that the scheme will attract technicians from Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and the Philippines. "We hope to fill not just today's demand, but to expand the workforce and improve the level of competency for technicians," Lau said. "Then we can snatch business away from other nearby airports." For her part, the life honorary chair of the Elderly Services Association, Grace Li, called on officials to simplify application procedures for importing nurses.
RTHK
27-04-2025
- Business
- RTHK
More protection needed for local workers: FTU
More protection needed for local workers: FTU The Federation of Trade Unions has made six demands in their Labour Day Declaration. Photo: RTHK Unionists said on Sunday the government needs to prioritise employment for local workers when they formulate plans to import labour. This was one of the six demands the Federation of Trade Unions put forward in their Labour Day Declaration. The union said officials need to consider the unemployment figures of different industries. 'According to government numbers, the unemployment rate in Hong Kong is 3.2 percent, but this number is worse in some industries. For example, 5.3 percent in the catering industry and five percent in the construction industry,' said the union's lawmaker Kingsley Wong. 'We hope the government will pay attention to these severe situations and take measures to ensure local workers are given priority in employment,' he added. Wong said the government should consider halting the import of foreign workers in industries with higher unemployment rates, so that it would be easier for locals to find work in those sectors. The FTU also called for legislation to protect the staff of food delivery platforms. They pointed out that riders are currently not covered by work injury protection and other labour laws because they are regarded as self-employed. Other suggestions include strengthening the Mandatory Provident Fund system, boosting construction safety protocols, as well as increasing training for local talent.
HKFP
25-04-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong catering union calls for mechanism to halt labour import scheme after ‘200 workers replaced'
A catering labour union has called on Hong Kong authorities to establish a mechanism to halt the controversial labour import scheme after finding that over 200 local employees reported being replaced by imported workers. The Eating Establishment Employees General Union said on Thursday that some employees reported being fired and replaced by non-local workers employed through the city's 'enhanced' labour import scheme. Labour minister Chris Sun said last week that the government had approved a total of 54,278 non-local workers – mostly from mainland China – since the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme was launched in early September 2023. The two-year scheme, set to end in September, allows Hong Kong employers to bring in non-local workers for 26 types of jobs that were previously only open to local residents – including cashiers, hair stylists, sales assistants, and waiters – as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts such as cleaners, dishwashers, and security guards. More than 8,900 non-local workers worked as waiters – the most popular job taken up by imported workers – followed by junior cooks, according to the Labour and Welfare Bureau. 'Just cutting costs' Citing results from an opinion survey on the scheme's impact on local employees, union chair Lam Chin-kwok said that 70 per cent of more than 2,000 respondents said their employers had imported non-local workers. Some 90 per cent said they opposed the continuation of the labour import scheme. Chiu Kwun-chung, head of the union's labour rights committee, said: 'If there are sackings after labour imports, it's obvious that they aren't solving staff shortages, or easing the pressure on employees… just cutting costs or relieving operational pressures.' Chiu also said that some employers had fired mostly older employees and replaced them with imported workers. Dishwashers had also lost their jobs to the labour import scheme, he added. Under the scheme, companies must pay non-local workers no less than the median monthly wage for that job. The union called on the government to carry out regular reviews and establish a mechanism to halt the scheme should it compromise the employment of local workers. Union chair Lam on Thursday also urged the government to establish a reporting system allowing employees to flag their bosses' alleged abuses of the labour import scheme. The Federation of Trade Unions, a pro-Beijing coalition that the catering industry union is part of, has also made similar calls, saying the catering and construction sectors were among the hardest hit by unemployment in recent years. The expansion of labour importation schemes has sparked controversy, with labour groups and political parties raising concerns that they have led to higher unemployment rates and lower salaries among local workers.
RTHK
23-04-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Lawmakers call for rise in income thresholds for MPF
Lawmakers call for rise in income thresholds for MPF Lam Chun-sing, second left, and Kingsley Wong, fourth left, want both lower and upper income thresholds to be raised. Photo: RTHK Unionists called on Wednesday for adjustments to income levels for mandatory provident fund (MPF) contributions so people can enjoy better protection upon retirement. Lawmaker Kingsley Wong, who's also chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, said that can be achieved by adjusting the minimum and maximum levels of income on which MPF contributions are based. These levels, he pointed out, have remained unchanged at HK$7,100 and HK$30,000 respectively for more than 10 years. Wong suggested the income range at which contributions become mandatory be raised to between HK$10,250 and HK$50,000. At present, those earning less than the minimum threshold per month do not have to make MPF contributions. This is despite the latest government data showing that workers' median monthly salary now stands at HK$20,500, Wong said. He said adjusting the income levels is crucial in terms of retirement protection. "Based on our calculations, because our contributions for MPF are quite low, they are only sufficient to cover one third of the amount needed after retirement," Wong said. "We will need to rely on other kinds of subsidies to fill the gap. "If we can adjust the relevant income levels, it will be a great help." Lam Chun-sing, lawmaker and chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, called on the government to make MPF contributions for low-income and grassroots workers as soon as possible. He pointed out that by adjusting the income levels, even though more low-income workers can be exempted from making mandatory contributions, this would mean that they enjoy less protection for retirement. Lam believes the government would be able to shoulder the additional costs, as the number of low-income individuals earning less than HK$10,000 a month is low, he added. Separately, Lam said the proposal to allow people to transfer the entire MPF amounts to a new scheme provider once per year is good for workers. "If they can choose their own investment plan, [as] trustees also want to attract them to make investment in their funds, so there's competition," he said. "And through market forces, [it will] encourage the trustees to improve their investment performance and lower their administrative fees, and that will benefit employees." Currently, people can only transfer their own contributions, but not those made by their employers.
