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| Labor Secretary Chris Sun takes close look at Filipino workers being trained on elderly care, during his visit to the Philippines last month |
Hong Kong may begin hiring in the next two months the first of the 3,000 care
workers from abroad who will work in residential care
homes (RCHs), a big number of whom are likely to come from the Philippines.
This was hinted at by today Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Chris Sun, in a written answer to Legislative Council member Shiu Ka-fai’s
question on Hong Kong’s labor shortage.
“We have formulated a special scheme to import care workers
from RCHs to address the acute shortage of care workers in the RCH sector by
providing greater flexibility and more streamlined procedures to import care
workers,” he said.
Sun’s announcement follows an interview with the Manila Times, in which he said Filipino care workers have an advantage over their counterparts from other countries, as the training they receive is at par with the Hong Kong standard for care giving.
Early last month Sun made a three-day visit to the
Philippines last month, which included a stop at a training center of the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to take a closer
look at the training of overseas-bound Filipino workers, including the scope of
competencies, quality assurance and recruitment arrangements.
Sun also paid courtesy calls on Secretary Susan Ople of the
Department of Migrant Workers, Secretary of Labor and Employment, Bienvenido
Laguesma, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo and the
Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Eduardo
Punay.
These meetings reportedly focused on strengthening the
collaboration between the two governments on the protection of the rights and
welfare of Filipino workers in Hong Kong.
Sun assured the officials of Hong Kong’s commitment to
protecting foreign domestic workers' rights, and briefed them on government efforts to enhance
workers’ protection, regulate employment agencies, and help migrants cope with
the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new caregiver positions will supplement the 4,000
imported workers already here, all from the Mainland.
Also in his statement to Legco, Sun said Hong Kong is reviewing
its manpower policies for the construction industry.
“… the Construction Industry Council released the latest
Construction Manpower Forecast last week. The Development Bureau (DEVB) has
indicated that it would make reference to the forecast data and assess how to
enhance manpower supply through a multi-pronged strategy including leveraging
local manpower resources, enhancing training and bringing in non-local
resources as necessary, as well as reducing manpower needs through productivity
uplifting measures. The DEVB's target is to present the assessment and a holistic
strategy for addressing manpower needs of the construction sector by mid-2023,”
he added.
Sun said that since December 28, 2022, the government has ruled that for vacancies
falling under the 13 professions, employers are no longer required to provide
proof to substantiate their difficulties in local recruitment in to have their
recruits admitted.
The 13 professions currently under the Talent List are:
- Professionals in compliance in asset management;
- Financial professionals in environmental, social and
governance (ESG);
- Waste treatment specialists;
- Asset management professionals;
- Marine insurance professionals;
- Actuaries;
- Fintech professionals;
- Data scientists and cyber security specialists;
- Innovation and technology experts;
- Naval architects;
- Marine engineers and superintendents of ships;
- Creative industries and performing arts professionals; and
- Dispute resolution professionals and transactional lawyers.
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