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The Government attaches great importance to wage offences in the construction industry and will take all-out efforts to combat such offences. Labour inspectors of the Labour Department will investigate any breaches of the Employment Ordinance. Prosecution will be instituted against offending employers whenever there is sufficient evidence.
The Labour Department has stepped up inspections to construction sites to enforce the wage provisions under the Employment Ordinance. Labour inspectors have inspected 108 construction sites in the first eight months of 2007, which already exceeds the total number of 101 construction sites inspected in 2006. During the inspections, labour inspectors interview employees to check wage payment and will investigate into cases suspected to have involved wage offences. Labour inspectors will also leave behind contact means to facilitate employees to lodge complaints when necessary.
A spokesman for the Labour Department said, The Labour Department had secured 261 convicted wage summonses in the construction industry in 2006, a rise of 85 per cent compared with the 141 convicted summonses secured in 2005. From January to August this year, the Labour Department secured 153 convicted wage summonses in the construction industry. The court has imposed heavier penalties on wage offence cases. In the past year or so, the employer of a construction engineering company was sentenced to 8 weeks¡¦imprisonment suspended for one year after being convicted of wage offences. There were also employers in the construction industry who met with penalties of over one hundred thousand dollars.¡¨
The Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department is in contact with main contractors of construction sites across the territory to monitor their wage payment to employees. The Department is also in close liaison with the Housing Department and other Works departments to see if any employees are owed wages.
The Labour Department emphasizes that it will continue its vigorous enforcement action against wage offences. The Labour Department urges employees who are owed wages to approach its Labour Relations Division immediately for assistance, or call the Labour Department¡¦s hotline on 2815 2200 to report the wage offences. The Labour Department also appeals for the assistance of the employees to help bring the offending employers to justice by testifying against them at court.
Ends/Sunday, September 2, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:01
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