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The Government proposes to amend the Employment Ordinance to raise the maximum penalty for wage offences. The related Employment (Increase in Penalty for Offences under Section 63C) Bill 2005 will be gazetted on Friday (December 2).
The Bill seeks to raise the maximum penalty for wage offences under section 63C of the Employment Ordinance from the existing fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for one year to a maximum fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
It will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first reading on December 14.
"In recent years, wage defaults by employers have increasingly become a significant cause for labour disputes and claims handled by the Labour Department. Whereas non-payment and under-payment of wages accounted for 27% of all labour cases handled by the department in 2000, the proportion climbed to 34% in 2004," a spokesman for the Labour Department said today (November 30).
"The spate of catering establishments closing business and defaulting in payment of wages earlier this year has heightened public concern over the need for more effective sanctions under the Employment Ordinance against unscrupulous employers evading wage payment.
"The department takes a serious view of wage offences and makes every effort to prosecute employers who have contravened wage provisions under the Employment Ordinance, where there is sufficient evidence and the employees concerned are willing to testify in court.
"In tandem with the department's all-out efforts to combat wage defaults, it is necessary to raise the maximum penalty to ensure that the Employment Ordinance has effective sanctions against wage offences. In particular, there is a strong body of public opinion that employers wilfully evading their wage obligations should be more severely punished," he said.
"The proposed fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years is considered an appropriate maximum penalty for wage offences under section 63C. It would send a clear message to employers that they must pay wages on time. It is also on a par with the maximum penalty for the offence of employing not lawfully employable persons under the Immigration Ordinance," he said.
As a result of the department's rigorous enforcement efforts, the number of convicted summonses on wage offences rose from 139 in 2002 to 445 in 2003 - registering a hefty increase of 220%. The figure increased to 504 in 2004, up 13% on 2003. In the first ten months of this year, 493 summonses resulted in convictions.
Ends/Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Issued at HKT 11:17
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