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Following is the question by the Hon Abraham Shek and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (January 26):

Question:

Whilst the latest unemployment rate of the construction sector in Hong Kong still remains persistently high at 15.1%, which is well above the overall unemployment rate of 6.8%, it is reported that Macau is facing a shortage of construction workers, and the Macau authorities are discussing with the Hong Kong authorities the importation of Hong Kong construction workers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the progress of the above discussions;

(b) whether it has taken any actions to assist the construction workers of Hong Kong in finding jobs in Macau; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(c) of the actions it has taken to ensure that the Hong Kong construction workers' labour rights are adequately protected while working in Macau?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has put in place a labour importation scheme since 1988 to allow employers to import non-resident workers, including construction workers, to take up jobs which cannot be filled by local Macao workers. An employer who intends to import non-resident workers has to seek approval from the Labour Affairs Bureau (LAB) of Macao and prove that resident workers are not available to fill the vacancies and that importation of workers will not jeopardise the interests of resident workers. According to Labour Department's recent enquiry with the LAB, the Macao SAR Government does not at this stage have any special scheme to import construction workers from Hong Kong. However, in view of Macao's rapid development in building and construction works in recent years, the demand for construction workers is expected to be substantial over the next few years. According to the LAB, so long as importation of workers would not adversely affect the interests of resident workers, the Macao SAR Government would welcome non-resident construction workers, including those from Hong Kong to work in construction projects in Macao.

(b) Apart from helping job-seekers to find jobs, the Labour Department can also help Hong Kong employers to recruit staff to work outside Hong Kong (for example, Macao). To facilitate data searching and application by job-seekers, all relevant information about the vacancies registered with the Labour Department (including whether there are vacancies requiring to work abroad) are displayed at all ten job centres of the department and uploaded to its Interactive Employment Service website.

(c) The labour legislation in Macao only applies to its resident workers. However, to protect non-resident workers, the Macao SAR Government requires employers to sign with non-resident workers written employment contracts. All employment contracts must be approved by the LAB. As a general principle, the rights and benefits accorded to non-resident workers under the employment contract should not be lower than the standards stipulated in the relevant labour laws. In case a non-resident worker is not granted any of the contractual rights and benefits or there is any employment-related dispute with his employer, the LAB will provide free conciliation service to help the two parties reach a settlement. If the matter cannot be resolved through conciliation, the LAB will refer the case to the Public Prosecutions Office. Under the Macao legislation on labour litigation, the Public Prosecutions Office may represent the worker to lodge a claim against his employer in court through civil proceedings.

Ends/ Wednesday, January 26, 2005

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