Members present the president the honourable andrew wong wang-fat, O. B. E., J. P
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER
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- SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER
- PRESIDENT
- WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Financial Assistance for Flood Victims 7. MR CHEUNG HON-CHUNG
- SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE
- Basic Law-Related Legislation 8. MR TSANG KIN-SHING
- SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS
- Electricity Demand and Generating Capacity 9. MISS CHRISTINE LOH
- SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES
- Control of Asbestos 10. DR JOHN TSE
- SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, perhaps I should first of all advise the Honourable James TIEN that I hope employers who are unable to recruit workers consequent upon the termination of the General Labour Importation Scheme will continue to advertise their vacancies in local newspapers. I hope these employers will participate in the JMP of the Labour Department. We would be extremely pleased to recommend suitable candidates we know of to such employers. There is one point I want to explain. The main reason for implementing the up-coming SLS is the fundamental spirit in furtherance of which the Government considers the importation of labour only when it is certain that a vacancy cannot be filled by a local worker. Let us now turn to the practicalities mentioned by Mr TIEN. Quoting from my answer, he pointed out that "..... before their applications are processed further" employers need to participate in the JMP of the Labour Department for two months. The point is the length of time needed in further processing these applications. First of all, let me explain the meaning of "processed further". The phrase is there because we do not want at that stage to guarantee approval for applications for labour importation. We need to know, in the two-month recruitment process, what has taken place, how many applicants have there been, what the job application results are, what the interview results are, and why applicants have not been offered jobs with the company. So, we must be extremely careful in processing each application. Nevertheless, we expect to be able to tell employers within a month whether their applications are accepted. I therefore want to repeat here that the time needed should be within a month. MR HOWARD YOUNG (in Cantonese): Mr President, other than the time needed to process applications, what bothers most employers who have to fill job vacancies with imported labour is the problem with quotas, for quotas are "unpredictable" or "unstable". When they make their applications, employers cannot tell whether their applications would be approved. If they knew their applications would not be granted, they would not bother to apply. Will the Government inform us how quotas are allocated? Would it put in some efforts to enable employers to predict their chances of success in their applications so that they may save time? Are standards against which quotas are set the same as those in the previous scheme? Or are new standards for quotas being used under the new scheme? I hope the Government can make public this information as soon as possible. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, I think perhaps the Honourable Howard YOUNG can read again carefully our Review Report. In fact, the SLS proposed this time is markedly different from the existing General Labour Importation Scheme. The major difference lies in the arrangement that in the present "SLS" every application will be dealt with individually. And I must emphasize that each and every application will be so dealt with. As such, it would be rather impossible for the Government to tell applicants before they make their applications what chances of success they have. Indeed, we very much hope the proposed scheme can enable local employers to recruit locally the staff they need and at the same time participate in the JMP of the Labour Department. Their participation would enable us to choose matching candidates for employers to interview and hence to recruit someone suitable. After the above two stages and if the need should arise, and after we have consulted the Employees Retraining Board, no suitable retraining scheme or on-the-job training can be arranged, we would consider further the application for imported labour. However, where application time is concerned, I do not think the proposed SLS is any more complicated or drawn-out than the General Labour Importation Scheme. Employers who have applied for imported labour under the General Labour Importation Scheme would know that as a first step in their application they had to go to the Labour Department to register for three months rather than two months. Before that, there was a period of six weeks for open application, at the expiry of which applications would be centralized for processing according to the nature of the trades or professions concerned. Past experience tells us that it took at least six months to go through the process, starting from the submission of application and ending at quota approval (but excluding the time required for imported labour to reach Hong Kong). So, in fact, as regards time, the SLS actually takes a shorter time than the General Labour Importation Scheme; but we are stricter in processing application under the SLS. PRESIDENT: This is the last question for the day. I have five names on my list and I shall draw a line there as we have to move on. MR CHAN WING-CHAN (in Cantonese): Mr President, would the Government inform us whether it would disclose, for the purposes of enhancing our understanding about labour importation, of monitoring the same and of curbing black-market labour, the names of companies applying for labour importation on contract; if not, why not? SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, at this stage, we are discussing with the labour sector, the business community, and Legislature Council Members details of the entire SLS. The question of whether the list of applicants or employers should be disclosed was in fact mentioned in my main reply; that is, the question was discussed at the LAB meeting on 2 November. The LAB consented to the idea that the list of employers or their names, addresses and so on should not be disclosed at the time of application. However, it indicated at the same time that it would request the Labour Department to furnish relevant information as and when it is of the view that problems have arisen in a certain case. Maybe, we can consider letting LAB Members have, in confidence, I stress, in confidence, more detailed information of the employer in question. However, I must emphasize that these are only the ideas of the LAB. The Administration will make a decision only when it has taken all ideas into consideration. MR LEE CHEUK-YAN (in Cantonese): Mr President, in his reply, the Secretary for Education and Manpower indicated that employers need to participate in the JMP of the Labour Department for two months for staff recruitment before their applications for labour importation are processed further. I think the procedures are apparently extremely rigorously, but in practice, Mr James TIEN can use this to suit his purpose by "advancing along an unknown path". According to past experience, there were almost 500 000 applications submitted by employers. So we would ask this question: With 100 000 employers registering in the JMP, how could Labour Department staff possibly handle the vast number of employers? How could the staff possibly examine each and every interview under each application to find out whether employers have made things difficult for local workers, or intentionally refuse local workers to pave the way for labour importation? How could manpower of the Labour Department cope with the 100 000 applications? We think it is an impossible job. Do you agree, Secretary? PRESIDENT: I am afraid, Mr LEE, you are not supposed to ask the Secretary for an opinion. So perhaps you may wish to rephrase your question, for example, to say: How is the Government proposing to implement such a policy? MR LEE CHEUK-YAN (in Cantonese): How is the Labour Department going to redeploy its existing manpower in order to handle the 100 000 applications to ensure that no employers can use the scheme to make things difficult for local workers with the aim of importing labour? SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, the Honourable LEE Cheuk-yan mentioned the figure of 100 000 three times but this does not mean that that is a truth. We would have to wait and see how many applications there would be in future. In addition, I think the scheme is indeed extremely rigorous. If employers do not have the real need, I do not think they would spend the time to go through the process of documentation, recruitment and registration. I would like to explain the procedure a bit. During the time an employer participates in our recruitment work, that is, prior to the two-month long registration with the JMP, we would request the employer to submit a preliminary application, upon which the employer would have to furnish information such as job type, amount of wages, limitations on age and sex, and any extraordinary requirements and so on. In the two-week long preliminary application period, we very much hope to eliminate those applications which are unrealistic, fail to meet our requirements or lack good faith. Afterwards, we would then buckle down to processing applications by employers with a real need and the willingness to undergo what we call a three-step scrutiny. I very much thank Mr LEE for showing concern over our manpower situation. We may have the need for more manpower in future, but basically, we will carefully consider every application. I wish to stress once more that I am reluctant to guess how many applications we would be receiving. MR LEE CHEUK-YAN (in Cantonese): I mentioned the figure of 100 000 because there were 100 000 applications in the past. I was not just making guesses, as there were indeed 100 000 applications. Thank you, Mr President. MR HENRY TANG (in Cantonese): Mr President, in his reply, the Secretary for Education and Manpower indicated that the SLS would have a positive impact on the business development of Hong Kong, and in the Governor's policy address, it was said that the SLS would start on 1 January 1996. However, recent reports from the newspapers intimated that the Secretary was considering delaying the starting date for six months. Could the Secretary inform me whether he would start the Scheme on 1 January 1996 as set out in the policy address? Or would he delay the Scheme? SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, I do not know whether I should respond directly to conjectures from the relevant newspapers. But since the Honourable Henry TANG mentioned that there had been newspaper reports that the Government intended to delay the Scheme for six months, perhaps I should talk about the matter here. With regard to reports in the relevant newspapers, I have issued a clarification notice pointing out that the Government has never considered delaying the SLS for six months. I want to stress that up to now the SLS remains a proposal. The Government's stance is of course positive and flexible. We aim at putting into effect the proposal on 1 January. With this aim in mind, we will conduct discussions with various sectors in the community. MISS CHAN YUEN-HAN (in Cantonese): Mr President, the Government in its reply to this Council a moment ago mentioned that in principle it consented to the LAB supervising and monitoring the implementation of the SLS. Will the Government inform this Council whether in addition to supervising the SLS it intends to include existing imported labour for the new airport and other imported labour within the scope of supervision by the LAB; if not, why not? PRESIDENT: It strays away from the original question, but you may, if you are prepared, to answer it, Secretary for Education and Manpower. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, I must explain that the Importation of Labour Scheme for Airport Core Projects (ILS for ACP) is a special scheme designed to ensure the airport can be completed as scheduled. There is a set of sound procedures for the ILS for ACP, including supervision by officers from the Labour Department and the establishment of a Special Placement Team for Airport Core Projects. So, we do not think the present SLS should be looked at side by side with the ILS for ACP. MR JAMES TIEN (in Cantonese): Mr President, there is a quota of 25 000 for the existing labour importation scheme, and there are 100 000 applications. The Government has enough officers to scrutinize these applications. I think there would not be as many applicants when the quota shrinks to 5 000. Now, under the SLS, applications are checked against very rigorous standards. These standards include requirements for employers to pay median wages, provide accommodation and, say, arrange for transport from China. Employers also need to advertise vacancies for two weeks, go through a four-week recruitment exercise and participate in the JMP of the Labour Department, which lasts for two months. With such rigorous requirements, is it still necessary to retain the 5 000 quota? What I mean is: a business needs to spend a lot of time and money in applying. The application process, if started now, will last till April or May next year. As a result, the 4 999th applicant may be given part of the quota applied for while the 5 001st applicant may not? Would the Government just say "sorry" to the 5 001st applicant? Or would it act otherwise, for example, would it provide compensation, in monetary terms? SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, in setting the upper limit of 5 000, we have in fact taken a lot of factors into consideration. In the past year, the labour market was considerably less tight in practical terms compared with the previous year (for example, end of 1994). We have a similar comparison against 1989, the year in which the General Importation of Labour Scheme was launched. In an in-depth survey we conducted, it was actually shown, and I also categorically pointed out in my main reply, that workers in some job categories are in fact found to be suitable candidates for some jobs taken up by workers imported under the labour importation scheme. The upper limit of 5 000 is one we have set after taking a lot of factors into consideration. Let me stress this is just an upper limit. We will consider applications on the merits of each case. At present, from the public opinions we have received, from opinions we read in newspapers and from results of independent surveys, we have a feeling that the Scheme, including the upper limit of 5 000, is generally acceptable. Hence, up to now, the Government has not considered altering the upper limit of 5 000. MR JAMES TIEN (in Cantonese): If every applicant meets the requirements, the 4 999th one can of course be given part of the quota applied for. But would the Government be prepared to compensate the 5 000th applicant or those later applicants not given any of the quota applied for? SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): I believe in future when the SLS is implemented and there are more than 5 000 qualified applicants, the Government will surely consider opinions, if any, put forward by the LAB. The question is that we very much hope to implement the SLS. We must set down details for it. I need to stress that it would not be helpful to make predictions before the Scheme is launched, including predictions that we would be receiving 100 000 applications, and there would be 5 001 qualified applicants against an upper limit of 5 000, and so on. WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Financial Assistance for Flood Victims 7. MR CHEUNG HON-CHUNG asked (in Chinese): Residents of northern and north-western New Territories are constantly plagued by the problem of flooding, which always occurs at times of torrential downpour. Such flooding causes destruction to residential homes and crops, resulting in financial losses to residents and farmers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether the Government provides any financial assistance to affected farmer households after each flooding; if so, through what channels can they obtain assistance and what is the amount of financial assistance given to each household; and (b) whether there are any special arrangements and measures to assist residents affected by flooding in resolving their housing problem? SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Mr President, (a) For full-time subsistence farmers adversely affected by natural disasters such as floods, grants are made available from the Emergency Relief Fund to alleviate any consequential financial hardship. These grants are given to assist farmers to repair the damage and resume production. They are made in accordance with a payment schedule which is revised from time to time to reflect increases in prices and wages. Currently, an eligible farmer can be provided with a grant of up to $4,680 for the rehabilitation of a farm and a grant of up to $9,110 for rebuilding a stock house or farm building destroyed or severely damaged by flooding. In addition, a farmer may apply for a low-interest agricultural loan of up to $50,000 as working or development capital for resuming farm production. In the event of a natural disaster, the district offices of the Home Affairs Department co-ordinate the emergency relief work of various government departments at district level and publicize emergency relief arrangements including the availability of grants from the Emergency Relief Fund. Victims are fully briefed by district office staff on site and at temporary shelters on the various forms of emergency assistance available and advised on where and how to apply. Applications received by the district offices are promptly referred to the relevant government departments for processing. (b) The Government also provides temporary shelter for residents affected by flooding. For immediate relief, registered victims of flooding in need of assistance will be provided with accommodation in temporary shelters or transit centres. People normally return to their own accommodation after flooding subsides. Where squatter structures have been rendered permanently uninhabitable, the Housing Department will arrange for the occupants to be rehoused in permanent rental housing or in temporary housing accommodation according to their eligibility. Basic Law-Related Legislation 8. MR TSANG KIN-SHING asked (in Chinese): The Preliminary Working Committee’s Legal Sub-group recently proposed that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress should repeal six amendment ordinances which have been enacted so as to bring the principal ordinances in line with the Bill of Rights or the Basic Law. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether the Government, in formulating the relevant amending legislation, has taken into account Article 8 of the Basic Law and the principle of the Sino-British Joint Declaration which states that the existing laws will remain basically unchanged; (b) how it will ensure that the laws safeguarding human rights and the freedom of the Hong Kong people can straddle 1997; and (c) what measures will be put in place to safeguard human rights and the freedom of the people of Hong Kong in the light of the Chinese and British Governments having different interpretation of the status of the Bill of Rights? SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS: Mr President, (a) The amendments in question were made to ensure that the laws were consistent with the Bill of Rights Ordinance (BORO) and hence were consistent with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as applied to Hong Kong. Both the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law stipulate that the provisions of the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and Article 39 of the Basic Law provides that restrictions on the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents shall not contravene the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong. Amendments to laws to ensure consistency with the ICCPR are therefore consistent with both the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. Another equally important purpose was to modernize the relevant laws by updating obsolete provisions and removing anomalies. As in the case of other societies, we update our laws to take into account changing circumstances and developing jurisprudence. This is not in conflict with the Joint Declaration which provides that the laws currently in force in Hong Kong will remain basically unchanged. (b) The Joint Declaration specifically provides that the provisions of the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force. Article 39 of the Basic Law also provides that provisions of the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong shall be implemented through the laws of Hong Kong. Accordingly, those laws safeguarding the human rights and freedom of Hong Kong people, which are compatible with the provisions of the ICCPR, shall remain in force. (c) The continued application of the ICCPR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are provided for in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. Our position on the BORO is clear. The matter was taken up at the meeting of the Joint Liaison Group last week and we will continue to pursue this with the Chinese side through formal channels. Electricity Demand and Generating Capacity 9. MISS CHRISTINE LOH asked: Under the scheme of control agreements, the profit levels of the territory’s electric utilities are directly linked to building more power stations and electricity generating hardware. The utilities have pointed out that building new power stations and generating hardware is justified as the trends in present demand levels point to future shortfalls in generating capacity. In this connection, will the Administration provide this Council with a graphic breakdown of the 1994 electricity consumption patterns, both in total and by economic sector (industrial, commercial and domestic) in one-hour intervals, so that the public can see how electricity demand correlates with generating capacity? SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES: The Hongkong Electric Company Limited and the China Light and Power Company Limited have provided the attached graphical breakdowns of the electricity consumption patterns in their respective supply areas in 1994. The information is presented by each company in the form of 12 graphs indicating the pattern of electricity consumption on one day in each month of the year. The companies are unable to provide electricity consumption patterns by economic sector in one-hour intervals as they have not recorded data in that manner. I have asked the companies to consider how hourly power consumption patterns can be classified by economic sectors, to collect the data and to provide me with the results of their studies for presentation to Members in due course. Control of Asbestos 10. DR JOHN TSE asked (in Chinese): Regarding the use and removal of asbestos, will the Government inform this Council whether: (a) the Government will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the asbestos used in all existing buildings in the territory to ensure that the health of the public will not be threatened by structures containing asbestos materials; if so, whether the findings of the inspection will be made known to the public; and (b) the Government will introduce asbestos substitution technique to the industrial sector, so as to restrict the use of asbestos gradually or ban its use completely? SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, (a) As asbestos materials only become an environmental concern when they are improperly handled by people without the requisite knowledge and experience, it is not necessary to conduct a comprehensive inspection on asbestos used in existing buildings. The Administration's plan is to introduce a comprehensive scheme in 1996 to control environmental asbestos and require by law personnel involved in handling asbestos to be properly trained and registered. The scheme will also require certain classes of buildings such as hospitals and schools to inspect their buildings, to label any asbestos materials identified and to submit proper plans for the handling of such materials to the Environmental Protection Department. (b) With regard to the use of asbestos in the industrial sector, under the Factory and Industrial Undertakings (Asbestos) Special Regulations, the use of blue and brown asbestos and the spraying of white asbestos by all industrial undertakings have been banned since 1986. Amendments to these regulations to ban the use of any asbestos as an insulation material are under preparation. In early 1996, we propose to ban the import and sale of blue and brown asbestos, which are now rarely used, and to impose further controls on the use of less harmful white asbestos through regulations and a code of practice. Asbestos substitutes are readily available and are already being used widely to replace asbestos materials. Download 0.94 Mb. Share with your friends:
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