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The following is issued on behalf of the Standard Working Hours Committee:
The Standard Working Hours Committee (SWHC) held its 20th meeting today (February 24).
The Chairperson of the SWHC, Dr Leong Che-hung, said after the meeting, "At the meeting held earlier today, the SWHC continued to discuss the relevant draft documents and arrangements relating to the second-stage consultation. The secretariat will revise the relevant documents according to the SWHC's deliberations, with a view to launching the consultation in April this year at the earliest. The consultation is expected to take three months. During the consultation period, the SWHC will meet with major employers' associations and labour organisations, and organise consultation forums for, among others, the relatively long-working-hours sectors and the general public to widely listen to the views of the community on working hours policy directions being considered by the SWHC. Written submissions are also welcomed by the SWHC.
"In contemplating a working hours policy, the SWHC needs to carefully consider various factors including employees' overtime work situation as well as the possible impacts of different scenarios on employees, employers, enterprises (particularly small and medium-sized enterprises), trades, the overall economy and the labour market, with a view to building community consensus and formulating appropriate and feasible working hours policy directions."
Dr Leong also said, "Some members including, among others, the six employee members of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) did not attend today's meeting. The secretariat will meet with these members and listen to their views on the draft consultation documents. I am disappointed that the six LAB employee members did not attend the meeting today, and appeal once again to all members to actively participate in the ensuing discussion of the SWHC as well as the second-stage consultation, and the subsequent drafting of the report to the Government."
Chaired by Dr Leong Che-hung, the SWHC comprises members drawn from the labour and business sectors, academia, the community and the Government. For details, please refer to the SWHC website (www.swhc.org.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Issued at HKT 19:39
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