Latest news with #EnhancedSupplementaryLabourScheme
RTHK
2 days ago
- 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
5 days ago
- 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.
RTHK
18-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Have confidence in HK's resilient economy: Chris Sun
Have confidence in HK's resilient economy: Chris Sun Chris Sun says the public should have confidence in the SAR's economy. File Photo: RTHK Labour Secretary Chris Sun on Wednesday said the public should remain confident about Hong Kong's economy, even though the jobless rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 3.5 percent between March and May. The minister told an RTHK radio programme that the SAR is undergoing economic restructuring, and sectors such as catering and retail are struggling more than others. Sun said even though he expects the economy to be more uncertain due to the geopolitical situation, he is hopeful for the medium to long run. "If we are going to look at it in a medium-to-long-term comparison, 3.5 percent is similar to the average figure of the past 20 years," he said. "So everyone should be confident about the resilience of Hong Kong's economy." Sun said the 25,000 workers brought into the territory from elsewhere under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme have only a minimal impact on the city's unemployment rate as they account for less than one percent of the total labour force. The labour chief added that checks regarding imported workers will be carried out at catering firms after complaints from locals who lost their jobs. "Most of these 38 reports were filed in recent weeks. Our investigations take time because we have to be fair to employers. If the reports are proved to be true, we will take action," he said. "Reports from the catering sector accounted for the were 24 cases. Therefore, our inspection and checks will focus more on the catering sector." Sun said that to enhance transparency, the Labour Department has started publicising the names of firms seeking to bring in workers from elsewhere, being as the companies first have to carry out a four-week local recruitment process.
RTHK
17-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Locals get priority with imported labour curbs
Locals get priority with imported labour curbs The Labour Department says the aim is to ensure employment priority is accorded to locals. File photo: RTHK Local employers can only apply for imported labour once every six months starting on Tuesday, the Labour Department announced as part of an attempt to safeguard employment priority for locals. To ensure that employers would not replace locals with imported labour, it also launched an online complaints form on its webpage for the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme for them to report violations. Officers will carry out a special inspection campaign to check whether companies that have hired imported workers are in compliance with the government requirement on maintaining a 2:1 ratio between local and imported workers. The government stipulates that employers applying to bring in imported workers must try and recruit locally first as part of its effort to give priority to locals. Starting on Tuesday, the department will display the names of applicant companies when publishing job vacancies on its website. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun told RTHK that the authorities wish to provide more information for local job applicants. 'Jobseekers are often not aware when recruitment drives are launched because employers want imported labour unless they call the companies one by one, which can be troublesome,' he said. "So we want to make this information public." Sun also said some employers have been applying to hire imported workers many times over six-month spans. Filing such applications too frequently, he said, is not appropriate and employers should be more careful in their recruitment plans.
HKFP
13-06-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Call hotline to report employers suspected of replacing local staff with imported workers
The Hong Kong government has urged people to call a hotline if they suspect employers are replacing local employees with imported workers amid ongoing complaints about the city's non-local labour schemes. According to local media reports, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said on Thursday that unions and workers should report to the hotline 2150 6363 if they suspected employers had laid off local staff to hire imported workers. He added that the hotline was set up specifically to receive reports related to imported labour. However, upon checking by HKFP, the number is listed as the general enquiry line for the imported labour schemes. HKFP has contacted the Labour Department for comment. 'When rolling out the imported labour schemes, we have clearly stated that if employers violate relevant regulations, administrative sanctions, such as withdrawal of the imported worker quota, will be imposed, ' Sun said in Cantonese. According to regulations of the imported labour schemes, employers who apply to hire one imported worker should have hired at least two residents. He added that authorities would also conduct inspections and random checks to ensure that employers meet the 'two-to-one requirement.' Sun's remarks come amid rising unemployment in the city and ongoing complaints about non-local workers replacing local staff after the government relaxed rules on hiring non-local labour. Complaints from local workers Hong Kong expanded a series of imported labour schemes two years ago, citing a labour shortage. In June 2023, the government increased the quota for non-local workers in the construction and transport industries and residential care homes. In September 2023, it launched the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS), which permits non-local hires without quota limits. The ESLS, which is set to end in September this year, allows Hong Kong employers to import workers for 26 types of jobs that were previously only open to local residents, such as cashiers, hair stylists, sales assistants, and waiters. As of the end of March, the city had imported more than 54,000 non-local workers under the ESLS. Among them, more than 8,900 non-locals worked as waiters – the most popular job taken up by imported workers – followed by junior cooks, according to the Labour and Welfare Bureau. Meanwhile, more than 10,970 non-local workers were granted permits to work in Hong Kong's construction sector from September 2023 to March this year, according to the government's response to lawmaker Stanley Ng. The Eating Establishment Employees General Union said in April that over 200 employees reported being fired and replaced by non-local workers employed through the ESLS. Over 80 per cent of construction workers reported that their jobs had been 'affected' by the non-local labour scheme, according to a survey published by the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union in October last year. Last month, Sun defended the schemes. At that time, he suggested that local workers and unions file a report with the Labour Department should they suspect an employer 'has replaced local employees with imported workers.'
