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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (February 4) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on assisting grassroots workers in counteracting economic adversities.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Ip Wai-ming, states: " That the economic outlook for Hong Kong is not optimistic, employees lose their jobs as a result of economic slowdown and closure of enterprises, some enterprises use the financial tsunami as the pretext to effect pay cuts and layoffs even when they are making profits, resulting in an increase in the unemployment rate, and employees are the first ones to be hard hit, this Council calls on employers to undertake not to effect pay cuts and layoffs and urges the Government to:
(a) immediately promote collective bargaining between employers and employees, formulate collective agreements, study overseas experience in implementing collective bargaining, as well as legislate on the right to collective bargaining on the central, trade and enterprise levels, so as to strive for employees a bargaining position which is on an equal footing with their employers;
(b) subsidise the Mandatory Provident Fund contributions of low-income employees to relieve their burden;
(c) improve the mode of developing social enterprises to allow more bodies and organisations to establish social enterprises;
(d) promote local community culture economy in various districts, such as morning and night markets, holiday flea markets and art fairs, etc, to bring into play the local community culture and create employment opportunities;
(e) allocate suitable spaces in various districts to set up commercial and household waste recycling points, so as to promote the transaction of second-hand products and recycling of wastes;
(f) develop diversified industrial structures to create positions in more trades and at more levels; and
(g) establish an unemployment assistance system with integrated measures of financial assistance, employment training, employment placement, etc, so as to obviate the need for the unemployed to apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to tackle imminent financial problems."
Hon Frederick Fung, Hon Vincent Fang, Hon Cheung Kwok-che and Hon Albert Ho will move separate amendments to Hon Ip Wai-ming's motion.
Members will also debate a motion on promoting the development of local creative industries. The motion, to be moved by Dr Hon Samson Tam, states: ˇ§That, under the impact of the financial tsunami, Hong Kongˇ¦s economic development is at a crossroads where there is a pressing need to develop a new economy and the creation of jobs has become a social consensus; this Council urges the Government to make reference to the experience of successful countries or regions to formulate expeditiously the long-term policies, objectives and implementation timetables for creative industries in coping with the development of a new economy, as well as to:
(a) secure Hong Kong as the locomotive for developing creative industries in the region, with a view to assisting the industries in expanding their markets, in particular the highly promising Mainland market, and strengthening its cooperation with the industries in the Pearl River Delta region;
(b) facilitate cross-sector collaboration among creative industries, take proactive measures, such as building a one-stop platform and using the internet and technologies of new media, to enhance the competitiveness of local creative industries and assist the conventional industries in transforming their business successfully;
(c) offer various incentives, including tax concession, to ensure that adequate resources are available for implementing the policies and realising the objectives;
(d) nurture and engage talents needed by creative industries;
(e) promote intellectual property rights economy and open up room for developing creative industries; and
(f) foster a social culture which is conducive to promoting the development of creative industries and encourage the general public to have the values of exploration and innovation.ˇ¨
Hon Cyd Ho, Hon Audrey Eu, and Hon Paul Chan will move separate amendments to Dr Hon Samson Tam's motion.
Meanwhile, Hon Miriam Lau will move a resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Independent Police Complaints Council Ordinance (Commencement) Notice, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on January 14, 2009, to the meeting of March 4, 2009.
On bill, the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) (Amendment) Bill 2009 will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Second Reading debate on the bill will be adjourned.
During the meeting, Members will ask the Government 20 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies. The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site (www.legco.gov.hk).
Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Legislative Council Chamber. They may reserve seats by calling 2869 9399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Members of the public can also listen to the meeting via the audio webcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, February 2, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:01
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