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Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, on labour issues after attending a radio programme this morning (January 16):
Reporter: With that three long-standing labour-related issues that are still being consulted, how confident are you that these three consultations ... (inaudible) for the next and final Policy Address, and also do you think there will be enough time to actually implement them?
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: We will certainly do our very best in the next year or so to come up with the way forward on the three highly controversial and very important labour-related issues on retirement protection, on offsetting of MPF, as well as on standard working hours. Because the three issues are now being discussed, particularly for the standard working hours, we have got a high level committee deliberating it and it is expected to put up a report to the Chief Executive in a few months' time. For retirement protection, we have just embarked on an intensive and extensive public consultation. It will take up to at least middle of this year. So, by the end of this year, I think we should have a clear idea on the way ahead on these three very difficult and important issues which are of concern to Hong Kong community.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Saturday, January 16, 2016
Issued at HKT 12:50
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