Call to charge firms extra for hiring imported workers

The Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions on Tuesday proposed the government levy an extra HK$100 per month on firms for every imported worker they hire.

That’s among a raft of suggestions the labour group put forward to Chief Executive John Lee ahead of his upcoming Policy Address in the autumn.

The current levy amount is HK$400 a month per imported worker.

Federation chairman and lawmaker Lam Chun-sing said the additional levy could be redirected to support the local workforce.

“We can use the levy to set up an education fund or the vocational training fund in order to upgrade our local labour skill and provide more local human resources in different industries,” he said.

Under a recently launched "two-tier vetting mechanism", employers hoping to fill specific "Tier 2" catering-sector roles such as cooks and waiters with imported labour, are required to maintain a local-to-imported staffing ratio of 3:1.

The ratio stays at 2:1 for other roles.

Lam urged the government to set out clear indicators, such as the unemployment rate and number of job vacancies, to automatically trigger these stricter rules for other industries as needed.

“We should monitor the data to see whether we should put some of the industries in Tier 2. For example, the security guard, because more than 5,000 [imported] security guards have come to Hong Kong through the [Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme]," he said.

"Because many middle and old aged local workers will work as a security guard, especially if there's economic downturn. It's difficult for them to get a job in other industries.”

The federation also urged the government to expand school-based after-school child care services to secondary schools, saying that would help more parents — especially single parents — re-enter the workforce.

The initiative currently covers over 200 primary schools and provides around 10,600 service places, allowing students to stay after school for care and learning support.

Edited by Tony Sabine ...