Caterers face heat on labour imports in policy tweak

Rules for importing workers have been tightened in a major policy shift on Monday that targets the catering sector.

The move comes more than two-and-a-half years since the launch of Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme in September 2023.

Under a new two-tier mechanism, employers and workers looking to fill specific catering-sector roles – cooks, waiters, bartenders, receptionists and cashiers – face a stricter staffing ratio, starting on Tuesday.

Employers will now be required to maintain a local-to-imported staffing ratio of 3:1 for these tier-two posts, a jump from 2:1 previously.

Other positions under the scheme will remain tier one and keep the original ratio for now.

Before applications can be submitted, companies must complete a mandatory six-week local recruitment drive, during which they must also attend an on-site job fair organised by the Labour Department once every two weeks.

Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui said the shift is intended to target structural issues within the local workforce, saying a skill mismatch in the catering sector has left many experienced workers unemployed.

By tightening the importation requirements, he said, officials hope that, in certain situations, local workers can benefit from learning from imported staff – like, say, a mainland chef who specialises in northeastern Chinese cuisine – and expand their skill sets.

Hui also noted that the new 3-1 ratio could be applied to more job types that are seeing high local unemployment, such as security, in the future.

But he stressed that officials must proceed prudently as some sectors like retail face high unemployment because the industry is shrinking.

The updated scheme also shifts financial arrangements.

Employers can, starting with contracts signed on Tuesday, deduct up to 20 percent of an imported worker's wages to cover accommodation costs – double the previous 10 percent cap – provided it does not exceed the actual housing cost.

The worker’s final salary is still, however, not allowed to fall below the local median wage.

To give businesses operational flexibility, imported employees will now be allowed to work across up to five districts in Hong Kong, up from three.

To support inclusive hiring, officials also launched an incentive scheme that allows companies to import one worker for every employee with a disability that they hire.

Officials also imposed tougher penalties to tackle abuse of the scheme.

Companies found breaching the scheme more than once face a ban on further applications for up to five years, and the government will publicly name non-compliant employers.

When asked whether these updates mean the labour importation scheme is now being regularised, Hui said he was not against the idea, noting that Hong Kong's economic development would require imported labour for the foreseeable future.

Edited by Edmond Fong ...