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LCQ10: Manpower situation of the retail, construction and catering industries
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     Following is a question by Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (October 9):

Question:

     It has recently been reported in the press that some members of the business sector have pointed out that certain industries (particularly the retail, construction and catering industries) have encountered a manpower shortage and they therefore have suggested the importation of foreign labour. Yet, some members of the trade unions are of the view that the manpower shortage in the industries concerned can be attributed to the unsatisfactory remuneration packages of the relevant positions, causing a brain drain to other industries, while the overall supply of local labour is sufficient. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the respective numbers of (i) people employed, (ii) job seekers, (iii) people who were dismissed or made redundant and (iv) people who resigned, in the retail, construction and catering industries in each of the past five years, as well as the respective percentages of the numbers of (ii), (iii) and (iv) in the number of people employed in the industries concerned (with a breakdown by year and age group as set out in Table 1);

(b) of the average vacancy rates, average unemployment rates, average monthly wages and average weekly working hours in the retail, construction and catering industries in each of the past five years, with a breakdown in Table 2;

(c) whether the Government's assessment of the occurrence or otherwise of manpower shortage or wastage in Hong Kong's retail, construction and catering industries is made on the basis of the information in (a) and (b) above; if not, how the Government assesses the situation; and

(d) of the new measures to attract Hong Kong people to join the retail, construction and catering industries and to reduce the manpower wastage in those industries?

Reply:

President,

     The Administration's reply to the questions raised by Hon Kwok Wai-keung is as follows:

(a) and (b) Based on the information prepared by the Census and Statistics Department, the relevant statistics are listed at Annexes I and II respectively.

(c) and (d) Labour supply and demand in Hong Kong hinge on various factors such as the prevailing macroeconomic environment, developments of individual sectors, local demographic structure, and the implementation of employment and immigration policies. In assessing the manpower situation of different sectors in Hong Kong, apart from taking into account labour statistics, the Administration also pays close attention to the developments of the aforesaid factors.

     Regarding the construction sector, the volume of construction works has been rising in recent years. For Government public works projects, capital works expenditure has substantially increased from $20.5 billion in 2007-08 to about $70 billion in 2013-14. The expenditure is expected to exceed $70 billion on an annual basis in the coming years. According to the Construction Industry Council (CIC), building construction used to dominate the construction market in the past, but the percentage of infrastructure projects has been increasing in recent years. Moreover, about 40% of registered construction workers are aged 50 or above. The construction sector is thus facing the problems of rising manpower demand, skills mismatch and acute ageing of workers.

     To address the challenges arising from the forecast construction output and potential manpower problems in the coming years, the Administration has since 2008-09 been proactively formulating a series of measures. Between 2010 and 2012, two sums of funding totalling $320 million were made available to support CIC in strengthening training for local construction personnel and attract new entrants, particularly young people, to join the construction industry through promotion and publicity activities. CIC has launched various initiatives in recent years to strengthen training, including the Enhanced Construction Manpower Training Scheme and the Contractor Cooperative Training Scheme. As the industry's co-ordinating body, CIC has been maintaining close liaison with stakeholders to gauge the latest market situation and to suitably adjust training plans when necessary so as to better meet the manpower demand. Further, the Administration has enhanced caring and safety culture in the construction industry, including measures to improve site tidiness, provide additional welfare facilities on site, step up safety training for workers and enhance promotion and publicity of site safety.

     On the retail front, the Financial Secretary has set up a Task Force on Manpower Development of the Retail Industry earlier this year. The Task Force pools the efforts of the Administration, industry and relevant organisations to study the economic outlook of the industry and its labour demand and supply. The Task Force plans to complete its work within this year and put forward appropriate and specific recommendations for supporting the growth of the industry in the long term. For the catering industry, the Labour Department has also set up a Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry to provide employers concerned and job seekers with free recruitment and employment services.

Ends/Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:55

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