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| Worker shortage is acute in the catering sector (File) |
Labor Secretary Chris Sun has ruled out suspending the importation of workers, in the wake of a rise in unemployment figures, and complaints from locals that they are being deprived of jobs.
Sun said on a TVB programme
that there is an acute labour shortage in many sectors, and there is hardly any
basis for the claim that imported workers are displacing locals under the
Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS).
Out of more than a hundred
complaints about employers sacking locals after hiring imported labour, only
two appear to have bases, he said.
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| PAANO SUMALI? BASAHIN DITO |
“We
are looking into whether any employers laid off local workers after hiring
imported labourers and have identified two cases where preliminary evidence
suggests this might have occurred,” Sun said, adding the companies have been
given time to appeal to comply with due process.
But, in the meantime, they have been put on Labour’s watch list, which means their ongoing import applications have been suspended.
If the allegations are proven to be true, he said immediate sanctions will be imposed on the errant employers. This means all their import applications will be withdrawn, and they will be prevented from applying to import workers for two years.
The ESLS is up for review in September this year.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Government figures show that as of March this year a total of 54,278 workers were permitted to enter Hong Kong for 26 new job types, including waiters, junior chefs, and other catering staff.
A big number of them had come from the Philippines, according to officers of the Migrant Workers Office. Apart from waiters, the new hires also included dishwashers, cargo company staff and even hairdressers.
But the biggest number of imported Filipino workers, all 600 of them, were reportedly hired as aircraft mechanics for Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Limited (HAESL), a company engaged in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of Rolls-Royce and Trent engines which are used extensively in many aircraft nowadays.
Unionist lawmaker Bill Tang has called for imported labour for the catering sector to be suspended, saying the influx of workers from overseas is causing concern among locals.
The Society for Community Organization (SoCO) has echoed the call, saying many residents in the low-income groups are complaining about finding it hard to get a job because a lot of the vacancies were being taken up by foreigners.
SoCO is urging the government to re-evaluate the ESLS and give support to marginalized communities, especially in light of Hong Kong’s unemployment rate hitting a new high of 3.5 percent in the past two-and-a-half years.
But Sun said the complaint could have stemmed from a mismatch in the job market, where some employers consistently struggled to find staff while some jobseekers are unable to find a suitable position.
He said there should be a broader picture when
reviewing the scheme.
He also said the ESLS already ensures that locals got
job priority, as employers can only import workers if they are unable to hire a
local after a four-week recruitment exercise.
