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The Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour (Labour), Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said today (February 28) that enterprises should be employee-oriented, law-abiding and impartial if they wanted to achieve workplace co-operation by adopting good management practices.

Addressing the annual dinner hosted by the Hong Kong People Management Association on "How employers and employees can achieve a win-win situation", Mr Cheung said of the three principles, adopting employee-oriented management practices was the most important as it would benefit both employers and employees.

Citing a Good People Management Award winner in 2001 as an example, Mr Cheung said: "The company did not have any retrenchment during the economic downturn although this might be cost-saving in the short run. Instead, it used the opportunity to strengthen staff training in order to establish a more solid foundation. The company believed that retrenchment would, in the long term, bring mistrust and non-cooperation among staff. This is just not worth the candle."

"Enterprises thus have to treasure their employees even more when the economy is poor. This will give them a sense of security and an opportunity to make the best use of their potentials, thus enhancing the company's productivity and performance," he continued.

On the law-abiding principle, Mr Cheung said: "Observing the relevant labour and equal employment legislation would help reduce unnecessary disputes. It will also create a sense of belonging among employees as their benefits and employment terms are protected."

"The management should be impartial from the day they recruit staff," Mr Cheung said when sharing the experience of another winning establishment of the Good People Management Award 2001 with participants.

"The company's motto is to strive for solidarity and excellence. In recruiting staff, it is fair and impartial, and will not take sex, age and nationality into consideration. It has successfully nurtured a sense of belonging among employees through fair promotion, reward and training. That was why the company has won over 800 awards overseas," he said.

Mr Cheung firmly believed that human resources managers, if adhering to the three principles, could develop proactive and efficient employees, thereby improving the company's competitiveness and productivity. Employers and employees would eventually achieve a win-win situation.

Mr Cheung noted that the Labour Department had been advocating the three principles. It played an important role in promoting harmonious labour relations and help achieve a win-win situation in workplaces.

"Labour problems should best be resolved by workplace consultation. If differences still exist, conciliation services provided by the Labour Department would help resolve them. Labour relations in Hong Kong have been harmonious, thanks to the concerted efforts of all parties concerned, " he said.

The Labour Department handled 35254 disputes and claims last year, with 63.2 percent of them settled amicably by conciliation. The total number of working days lost through labour disputes per thousand wage earners and salaried employees was 0.26 day on average, which is among the lowest in the world. No working day lost was recorded in 2002.

Mr Cheung said the Labour Department had been enhancing public understanding of labour legislation and encouraging employers to adopt good people management practices.

The department organises a variety of activities including seminars and talks to promote good people management practices. It has produced a number of publications and CD-Roms relating to the Employment Ordinance, launched a dedicated website to provide the latest information, and disseminated the messages extensively through such mass medium as television, radio and newspaper.

The department also promotes workplace co-operation at the enterprise and industry levels. "The department encourages the setting up of human resources managers' clubs to help industries grasp the latest development and information on labour legislation and promote good people management practices to human resources managers," he said.

So far the department has set up 18 human resources managers' clubs to serve more than 1800 practitioners in banking, catering, construction and other industries as in small and medium sized enterprises. The Good People Management Award has been launched since 1999 to promote, encourage and commend establishments that excelled in their people management practices.

At the industry level, Mr Cheung said the department had been helping industries to set up tripartite committees to facilitate dialogue on issues of common concern. So far, nine tripartite committees have been set up in catering, construction, theatre, warehouse and cargo transport, property management, printing, hotel and tourism, concrete and cement, and retailing industries.

Mr Cheung pointed out the department had made utmost efforts to protect the statutory rights and benefits of employees.

"The department has set up an Employment Claims Investigation Unit recently to investigate immediately alleged breaches of the Employment Ordinance with a view to taking out prosecution against offending employers as soon as possible," he said.

"The department also organises promotional activities to urge aggrieved employees to lodge their claims and act as prosecution witnesses to safeguard their own employment rights. Employers are often reminded of their legal responsibility to pay wages within the statutory time limit," he added.

In conclusion, Mr Cheung said: "It needs the concerted efforts of employers and employees to maintain harmonious labour relations. I hope that employers and employees could continue to work in close partnership to maintain harmonious labour relations in Hong Kong."

End/Friday, February 28, 2003

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