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The following is issued on behalf of the Standard Working Hours Committee:
In response to views of employee members of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) today (October 13), the Chairperson of the Standard Working Hours Committee (SWHC), Dr Leong Che-hung, expresses his respect and concern over the feeling of employee members on the subject of working hours.
Dr Leong said, "The SWHC has since its establishment worked at full steam to explore working hours policy directions. On the basis of its previous discussions, and with reference to the findings of the dedicated working hours survey as well as the public engagement and consultation on working hours conducted last year, the SWHC has agreed in principle to recommend exploring a legislative approach to mandatorily require employers and employees in general to enter into written employment contracts specifying clearly such terms relating to working hours, e.g. the number of working hours, overtime work arrangements and methods of overtime compensation (i.e. the 'big frame'). Besides the 'big frame', the SWHC is also exploring the feasibility of providing further protection for grass-roots employees with lower income, lower skills and less bargaining power (i.e. the 'small frame').
"At the next SWHC meeting to be held later this month, the SWHC will continue to discuss the 'big frame' and the 'small frame', with a view to conducting the second-stage public consultation as soon as possible."
Dr Leong appeals to all SWHC members to forge common grounds and allow differences, and continuously support the work of SWHC. Dr Leong said, "In contemplating a working hours policy, the SWHC will need to carefully consider various factors including employees' overtime work situation as well as the possible impacts of different scenarios on employees, employers, enterprises (particularly SMEs), trades, the overall economy and the labour market, with a view to building community consensus and formulating appropriate and feasible working hours policy options."
Chaired by Dr Leong Che-hung, the SWHC comprises members drawn from the labour and business sectors, academia, the community and the Government. For details, please refer to the SWHC website (www.swhc.org.hk).
Ends/Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Issued at HKT 20:14
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