LCQ5: Government outsourced service contracts
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Question:
Regarding outsourced service contracts awarded by tender by the four major procuring departments (i.e. the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Housing Department (HD) and the Government Property Agency (GPA)) for employing non-skilled workers, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of cases in each of the past two years and the current year to date where contractors of the four major procuring departments were issued with verbal and written warnings or default notices, or were subject to deduction of service payments and termination of contracts owing to their failure to comply with contract provisions, with a breakdown by type of service (i.e. security service, cleansing service and other services);
(2) of the number of cases in each of the past two years and the current year to date where the contractors concerned failed to implement the measures to which they had committed in the Heat Stroke Prevention Work Plan submitted with their bids for the contracts;
(3) given that as reported, FEHD has incorporated the relevant requirements into its contracts in accordance with the Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work (the Guidance Notes) and stipulated that contractors must conduct heat stress risk assessments and formulate corresponding work-rest arrangements, of the details of the cases in each of the past two years and the current year to date where FEHD contractors contravened the relevant requirements and the penalties imposed; and whether LCSD, HD and GPA have incorporated the relevant requirements into their contracts in accordance with the Guidance Notes; if so, the details of the cases in each of the past two years and the current year to date where their contractors contravened the requirements of the Guidance Notes and the penalties imposed; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) under the marking schemes currently adopted by the four major procuring departments for outsourced service contracts, of the mid-point of the maximum marks for the various technical assessment criteria (i.e. wage rates, working hours, demerit records, past service performance records and other assessment criteria), as well as the respective technical-to-price weightings in terms of percentage; and
(5) whether the four major procuring departments have plans to progressively increase the weightings accorded to "wage rates" and "working hours" in the assessment, with a view to encouraging tenderers to provide better employment terms and conditions for non-skilled workers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In response to the question regarding non-skilled worker service contracts, having consulted the four major procuring departments (i.e. the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Housing Department (HD) and the Government Property Agency (GPA)), our consolidated reply is as follows:
(1) A breakdown of the follow-up actions taken by the four major procuring departments in the past three years (up to August this year) against contractors of outsourced non-skilled worker contracts for non-compliance with contract terms is set out at Annex 1.
(2) and (3) The Government has all along attached great importance to the protection of occupational safety and health of outsourced workers employed by government service contractors. For government service contractors employing non-skilled workers, tenderers for service contracts that involve non-skilled workers performing duties outdoors, in an indoor environment without air-conditioning, and/or in the vicinity of high temperature installations are required to submit a Heat Stroke Prevention Work Plan (Work Plan) certified by a Safety Officer who has a valid registration with the Labour Department (LD). Procuring departments will also stipulate in the tender documents the minimum proposals of the Work Plan to be submitted by the tenderers, which include adopting measures by making reference to the Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work published by the LD, such as conducting risk assessments of heat stress and implementing appropriate heat stroke preventive measures based on the risk assessment results. Any tender submitted without a Work Plan will not be considered in the tender assessment. Contractors who fail to comply with the measures committed in the Work Plan may also be issued with demerit points under the Demerit Point System.
The four major procuring departments have incorporated the relevant requirements mentioned above into the relevant non-skilled worker service contracts. In the past three years (up to August this year), no case of non-compliance with the Work Plan was found by the four major procuring departments.
(4) The technical to price weightings under the tender marking schemes and the marks for certain technical assessment criteria of the existing outsourced non-skilled worker contracts of the four major procuring departments are set out at Annex 2.
(5) The Government has all along been committed to protecting the remuneration as well as labour rights and benefits of non-skilled workers under outsourced government service contracts. Under the current procurement policy, procuring departments must include "wages" and "working hours" as assessment criteria in the marking schemes for non-skilled worker contracts. The marks assigned to "wages" should be no less than 25 per cent of the total technical marks, while no such restriction is imposed on "working hours". Procuring departments will, having regard to the nature of the contracts, formulate and adopt appropriate assessment criteria and weightings on the premise of striking a balance between protection of workers' rights and benefits and effective use of public funds.
Ends/Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:45
Issued at HKT 12:45
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