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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (March 2):
Question:
Some social service organisations have pointed out that due to the inadequate provision of interpretation services, non-Chinese/English speaking ethnic minorities (EMs) have encountered many difficulties in areas such as employment, education, using public services, etc. Although the Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (CHEER), a support service centre for EMs, has been commissioned by the Government to provide interpretation and translation services to assist EMs in accessing information relating to government services, it is learnt that government departments have not actively made use of such services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the respective numbers of occasions on which CHEER provided various types of interpretation and translation services, and (ii) the respective numbers of occasions on which government departments used such services, in each of the past three years (set out in Annex 1);
(2) given that the Government indicated in the 2014 Policy Address that "[t]he EDB [Education Bureau] is also developing Vocational Chinese Language courses for ethnic minority school leavers to enhance their employability", and the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research has for this purpose invited post-secondary institutions and education/training organisations to develop and operate the Vocational Chinese Language courses, of the details and progress of such work;
(3) as some members from EMs have pointed out that some employers took advantage of their weakness in Chinese reading comprehension and misled them into signing employment contracts in Chinese which do not provide for any basic labour protection (such as compensation for work injuries and contributions to Mandatory Provident Fund schemes), whether the authorities will issue guidelines to employers and step up law enforcement in this respect, so as to protect the labour rights and benefits of EM employees; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) as I have learnt that CHEER is required to have its contract renewed at two-year intervals, and the resources provided for it are insufficient, whether the Government will provide stable, long-term and sufficient resources to CHEER and similar service organisations to ensure that such organisations can cope with the increasing operating expenses (e.g. rents) and make long-term planning for their services; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Various government bureaux and departments (b/ds) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have been providing a range of services to meet the needs of ethnic minorities (EMs) under their respective policy areas, with a view to helping them integrate into the society. The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) is responsible for the overall policy on racial equality and the Race Discrimination Ordinance. CMAB promulgates the Administrative Guidelines on Promotion of Racial Equality to provide guidance to concerned b/ds to promote racial equality and ensure equal access to public services in the key areas concerned. As such, b/ds provide suitable assistance to EM service users according to their specific needs, including interpretation and translation services, ensuring their equal access to public services.
(1) The Home Affairs Department (HAD) provides support services to EMs to facilitate their integration into the community, including commissioning non-profit-making organisations to operate six support service centres and two sub-centres for EMs, providing various tailor-made learning classes, interest classes and other integration programmes. One of the centres, namely CHEER Centre, which is operated by the Hong Kong Christian Service, deploys part of its government grant to provide general interpretation and translation services, in addition to its basic services, though interpretation and translation services of specific context are not within its scope. Nevertheless, CHEER Centre is not the government's designated interpretation and translation service provider. Concerned b/ds may choose any interpretation and translation service providers that meet their specific needs. They may also consider taking other suitable measures, such as recruitment of EM service ambassadors, publication of leaflets in EM languages, etc, to facilitate EMs' access to their services.
The use of CHEER Centre's interpretation and translation services in the past three years are at Annex 2.
(2) Under the "Vocational Chinese Language Courses for Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) School Leavers" implemented by the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, two post-secondary institutions or education / training organisations were invited to develop and operate vocational Chinese Language courses pegged at Level 1 / 2 of the Qualifications Framework (QF) for NCS school leavers, with a view to enhancing their capability and confidence in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Chinese (especially in reading and writing), helping them obtain qualifications recognised by the Government or different sectors, and enhancing their employability. The courses have already been recognised under the QF. It is expected that the first course will be launched in or before the second quarter of 2016. To encourage the non-Chinese speakers to enrol for the courses, 85 per cent of the tuition fee will be reimbursed to the course participants who can fulfil the attendance or assessment requirement upon completion of the course.
(3) The Labour Department (LD) is committed to enhancing the understanding of employers and the general public about labour legislation and employees' rights and benefits through a wide range of publicity channels and various educational and promotional activities. LD also widely distributes leaflets/brochures produced in major EM languages to relevant bodies to facilitate their understanding of such information. Moreover, LD has all along been actively encouraging employers and employees through various channels to draw up written employment contracts. Employers are reminded to inform their employees about the contract provisions and conditions of employment before engaging them. As to employees, they are reminded from time to time to proactively seek to understand the terms on an employment contract before signing and seek clarifications from the employers on terms that they do not understand or find uncertain. As far as compensation for work injury is concerned, employers are required by law to take out employees' compensation insurance for their employees, failing which they would be liable to prosecution. Employees suspected to have been deprived of their employment rights should approach LD for assistance. LD will promptly investigate all complaints received and take out prosecution against offending employers as and when there is sufficient evidence.
(4) CHEER Centre is one of the support service centres for EMs operated by non-profit-making organisations commissioned by HAD. The tenure for the agreements between HAD and the centre operators is generally two-year. During the agreement period, HAD from time to time reviews the operators' performance and service needs, which will serve as factors to be considered during agreement renewal. When negotiating with centre operators on new agreements, HAD will take the opportunity to optimise the provision of services. For example, to introduce new initiatives through deployment of resources to better meet the needs of EMs. Besides, the agreement grant (including rent, staff costs and other operating expenses) will also be suitably adjusted to cope with inflation. In special circumstances, such as sharp increase in rental expenses, HAD will consider individual case and exercise discretion to provide additional grant, when necessary. This operating mechanism has all along been running effectively.
Ends/Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:28
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