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The employment situation of the catering industry had improved notably with the recovery of the economy, and about 15,400 new posts were created last year.
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, gave the above remarks at a dinner today (August 9) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the 37th anniversary of the Eating Establishment Employees General Union.
"The unemployment rate of the catering industry dropped by two percentage points from 8.9% in the second quarter of last year to 6.9% in the corresponding period this year," he said. "On the other hand, the number of unemployed persons in the trade fell from 19,800 to 16,300, down by 3,500.¡¨
On labour relations, Mr Cheung stressed that the Labour Department was committed to protecting the rights of employees in the industry in accordance with the Employment Ordinance. The department will prosecute employers who have violated wage provision.
From January to June this year, 53 convicted summonses involving the catering industry had been secured, up 20% as compared with 44 summonses in the corresponding period last year. Three company directors and an employer, including a director of a catering establishment, were sentenced to imprisonment in the first half of this year.
¡§The judgments send out a strong message to employers that the courts are attaching high importance to wage offences and stringent actions have been taken against employers who have committed wage offences,¡¨ Mr Cheung said.
In addition, nine labour disputes involving more than 20 workers in each case were recorded in the catering industry for the first half of this year, a significant drop of 57.1% as compared with 21 cases in the corresponding period last year.
"These figures indicated not only the continued growth of the economy and improvement in the number of wage defaults arising from restaurant closure, but also the effectiveness of the Government¡¦s effort in combating wage offences and preventing abuse of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund. But we must not be complacent or relax our efforts."
¡§We will continue to combat wage and other labour offences vigorously with a view to enhancing collaboration among employees, employers and the government, building a more harmonious relationship and fostering the development of the trade,¡¨ Mr Cheung said.
Ends/Thursday, August 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:40
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