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The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, gave a novel interpretation of the acronym "HR" (human resources) as he addressed the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM) at its gala dinner for the official launch of HKIHRM HR Professional Standards tonight (April 15).
"The first letter 'H' stands for 'human touch' and 'harmony' while 'R' stands for 'responsibility' and 'responsiveness'.
"HR is no doubt a people-oriented profession. And going back to the basics, central to people management is concern for pay and benefits of employees," he said.
On the subject of pay, Mr Cheung took the opportunity to brief the HKIHRM on the latest state of play on legislating for a minimum wage.
He reiterated that the aim of the Government was to arrive at an optimal minimum wage which provided an hourly wage floor to forestall excessively low wages without, at the same time, unduly affecting labour market flexibility, economic growth and competitiveness as well as causing significant loss in low-paid jobs.
Subject to the enactment of the Bill this legislative year and acceptance of the Provisional Minimum Wage Commissionˇ¦s recommendation on the initial rate, the statutory minimum wage is expected to come on stream in the first quarter of 2011, Mr Cheung noted.
He said, "Prior to that, the Labour Department will vigorously launch publicity and promotional activities to make sure that both employers and employees know and understand the legal provisions and their respective obligations and entitlements under the statutory minimum wage regime.
"Publicity materials will be prepared with illustrative cases and authentic examples drawn from different trades and industries regarding the application of the provisions," he added.
On "responsibility" and "responsiveness", Mr Cheung said that the importance of "socially responsible" and "responsive" people management could not be overemphasised.
"We all know that 'pay' matters, but 'pay' alone is not enough. After all, we all work to live and not live to work.
"To help employees achieve work-life balance, more and more employers have responded to the family needs of their staff and implemented various family-friendly employment practices.
"A family-friendly workplace is a higher-performing organisation as it can better attract and retain talent, boost staff morale and minimise staff turnover," he said.
Mr Cheung also noted that the Labour Department had been vigorously encouraging employers to adopt good people management through publicity and promotions as well as its network of tripartite committees and human resources managers clubs formed in different trades and industries with a view to fostering harmonious labour relations.
"I am sure that with a 'human' touch and by adopting 'human-oriented' and 'responsible' people management strategies, a 'harmonious' and, of course, 'resilient' corporate culture will set in and provide an enterprise with a strong competitive edge in the long run," he concluded.
Ends/Thursday, April 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:45
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