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LCQ1: Support services to low-income earners and job seekers
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     Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hok-ming and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (January 13):

Question:

     According to the latest information published by the Census and Statistics Department, the Composite Consumer Price Index had risen for three consecutive months to 110.6 in November 2009, and many economists expect the inflation rate in 2010 to reach 2% to 3%.  Yet, the nominal wage index for September 2009 fell over a year earlier and the unemployment rate reached 5%.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it has studied why the wage increase rate in Hong Kong has moderated; under the situation that the growth of earnings of members of the public cannot catch up with the rise in prices, what new specific measures the Government will put in place to alleviate the burden on the livelihood of low-income earners;

(b) given that quite a number of public utilities and public transport operators (including power companies, franchisees of cross harbour tunnels, ferry operators and green minibus operators, etc.) have recently applied for increase in fares, tariff and tolls one after another, whether the Government will reconsider at this stage further expanding the territorial coverage of the Transport Support Scheme; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(c) under the present situation of persistently high unemployment rate and travelling expenses, what new measures the authorities will take to assist the unemployed in finding jobs and alleviate their financial burden, particularly in respect of travelling expenses, when they start working after finding jobs?
 
Reply:

President,

     My reply to Hon Cheung Hok-ming's question is as follows:

(a) As a small and open economy, Hong Kong has inevitably been hard hit by the global financial crisis and the ensuing severe recession.  Weakening economic activity has depressed labour demand, with the labour market adjusting to such depressed demand through downsizing and wage reductions.  Although wages began to fall towards the end of 2008, the economy rebounded strongly since the second quarter of 2009.  The labour market likewise stabilised progressively, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate falling from a period-high of 5.4% in June ¡V August 2009 to 5.1% in September - November 2009.  Despite the fact that the latest nominal wage index continued to register a year-on-year decline, on a period-to-period basis, nominal wages actually increased by 0.6% and 0.3% in June 2009 and September 2009 respectively, while in real terms (deflating the nominal wage index by the Consumer Price Index (A) in netting out price changes), the increases were 1.0% and 3.8% respectively.  Labour earnings (including elements covered by wage rate as well as other irregular payments to workers such as discretionary bonuses and overtime allowances), as measured in terms of nominal and real payroll per person engaged in the private sector, both recorded appreciable year-on-year increases of 2.1% and 3.0% respectively in the third quarter of 2009.

     The Government always cares about the standard of living of the grassroots and low-income earners.  The Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme provides financial assistance to families and individuals (including low-income earners) who cannot support themselves financially to help them meet their basic needs.  

     In the light of the economic situation, the Government also introduced a number of relief measures in the past two years to help the grassroots and low-income earners ease their economic burden amidst inflation and the global financial crisis.  Apart from one-off payments and subsidies, there are also measures which are ongoing, such as increasing retraining resources, introducing the short-term food assistance services projects and expanding the Labour Department's employment programmes, etc., to provide assistance to families and individuals in need.

     The Administration will continue to monitor the economic situation and consider other relief measures where necessary.  The Financial Secretary will consider all relevant factors in preparing the upcoming Budget and the pre-Budget consultation is now well under way.

(b) The public transport policy of the Administration is to ensure that public transport operators maintain efficient and proper public transport services for the community.  At the same time, the Administration regulates fares of major public transport services under well-established mechanisms to ensure that the fare levels are reasonable.

     Moreover, the Administration has been encouraging public transport operators all along to introduce fare reductions or concessions as far as possible to help reduce passengers' travelling expenses, taking into account the operators' respective operating and financial conditions, overall economic environment and passenger needs.

     The existing Transport Support Scheme (TSS) provides a time-limited transport subsidy as an incentive to encourage needy job seekers and low-income employees living in the four designated remote districts (i.e. Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, North and Islands), where job opportunities are fewer and transport costs are relatively higher, to "go out" and seek jobs or work across districts.   

     LD implemented a series of relaxation measures for TSS in July 2008.  At that time, the Administration undertook to conduct a review after the relaxed scheme had run for at least one year.  We are now conducting an overall review of TSS.  The Panel on Manpower of the Legislative Council will hold a special meeting tomorrow (January 14, 2010) afternoon to receive views from deputations on TSS.  The Administration will take the views expressed by deputations into account when mapping out the way forward of TSS.  We will brief the Panel on Manpower of the Legislative Council as soon as possible after the review has been completed.

(c) The Labour Department (LD) adopts a variety of measures to promote labour market efficiency and dissemination of job vacancy information, with a view to facilitating job seekers to find jobs more expeditiously and in a more user-friendly manner.   

     LD will continue to provide a full range of comprehensive and free employment services to job seekers through its network of 12 Job Centres, Telephone Employment Service Centre, Recruitment Centre for the Catering Industry and Interactive Employment Service website.

     In view of the difficulties faced by young people, the middle-aged and persons with disabilities in their job search, LD has enhanced and integrated its various employment programmes, including the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme, the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme, the Employment Programme for the Middle-aged and the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme, with a view to strengthening the employability of these groups and help them enter or re-enter the labour market as soon as possible.

     As announced in the Chief Executive's 2009-10 Policy Address, LD will embark on the following new initiatives to provide further support to job seekers:

     (i) setting up a pioneer one-stop employment and training centre in Tin Shui Wai to streamline, integrate and enhance existing employment and training/retraining services offered by LD, Social Welfare Department and Employees Retraining Board;

     (ii) setting up a recruitment centre for the retail industry to provide more tailor-made employment support, including targeted job-matching service and on-the-spot interview arrangements; and to bridge more effectively and expeditiously the recruitment and employment needs of the industry which is characterised by high turnover and constant demand for workers;

     (iii) expanding LD's employer network to enrich its job vacancy database, and piloting the provision of vacancy search terminals to non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to help the residents of remote districts find jobs; and

     (iv) enhancing the user-friendliness and efficiency of LD's employment services through greater use of messaging technology such as Short Message Service (SMS) for disseminating information on job vacancies and recruitment activities to job seekers.

     Depending on the circumstances, anyone who just starts work but encounters financial difficulties and cannot make ends meet can obtain financial assistance through the CSSA Scheme.

Ends/Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Issued at HKT 14:27

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