From the Commissioner

It has been eight months since I took up the post of the Commissioner for Labour in July last year. The beginning of a new year presents an opportune time to look back and plan ahead. Looking back, soon after I had assumed office, a tower crane collapsed and the bar benders' industrial action erupted. It became apparent that the work of the Labour Department (LD) was not easy at all. The LD's efforts would be easily overlooked when no incidents took place. Nevertheless, when incidents happened, it would be too late to regret not having done what should have been done.

Tower Crane and Occupational Safety
Court proceedings on the tower crane collapse have commenced, thus making it inappropriate to comment on the specific causes of the incident at this stage. Nevertheless, the incident can still offer a good vantage-point to discuss LD's occupational safety and health (OSH) work. LD investigates and analyses carefully each and every industrial incident. The most important and saddening conclusion that we have drawn is that few accidents are unavoidable.

More often than not, accidents happen because someone (the management, technical staff, supervisors, frontline workers ¡K.) has failed to carry out his duties properly, or there has been a procedural slip or a lack of coordination in the work process. As a result, the company suffers damage to its reputation and losses of money and business, while the employee may lose his job, suffer ill health or lose a limb or even his life.

Industrial accidents occur against everybody's wish. Since it is no use crying over spilt milk, we should proactively look ahead with a view to forestalling future recurrence. Apart from taking compassionate follow-up for the injured or deceased workers and their families, the LD also carefully studies the causes of the incidents and considers the need for prosecution. "Rome was not built in one day" and to achieve continual improvements, carrots and sticks are equally important. In this connection, the LD is prudent in enacting legislation and rigorous in enforcing the law while at the same time, promoting, on diverse channels, OSH messages and training through tripartite cooperation among the Government, the business and the community. Such multi-pronged approach is guided by two objectives: 1) to help deter workplace accidents and inadvertent omissions thus helping to forestall recurrence of workplace accidents; and 2) to make each and every accident a lesson through which we could review the existing policies, legislation, guidelines and training in order to help enhance OSH awareness. For instance, soon after the tower crane incident, the LD inspected all construction sites with tower crane operation and took actions against non-compliance. In addition, the LD provided targeted training in collaboration with the trade. We also fully reviewed the workflow of tower crane operation.

Bar-benders Strike and Labour Disputes
Similar to OSH, seldom are labour disputes accidents; there must be some reasons behind. The crux is how labour relations are handled on a day-to-day basis rather than immediately prior to the industrial action. Take last year's bar benders' industrial action as an example. Dissatisfaction with the adjustment of the reference daily wage was the immediate cause, with the habits and "trade practices" of the bar bending occupation and other deep-seated issues being the underlying factors. Since wage adjustment did not involve breaches of labour legislation, it could only be resolved through rational and pragmatic negotiations.

People generally hold the view that a buoyant economy would automatically imply good labour relations. In fact, labour disputes are most frequent when the economy has just started to pick up. The reason is that employees expect to be able to share the economic benefits and hence crave for a better remuneration package. However, uncertain about the economic outlook, employers tend to be prudent and seek to control costs. The stance of both the employers and employees is understandable. This expectation gap, however, will easily strain the relationship between them.

In industries such as the financial sector, where vocational skills are widely applicable to other sectors, employees can improve their remuneration through changing jobs. However, in some other industries, employees may take the initiative to fight for better conditions from their employers. As such, we expect that a fair amount of the labour disputes in 2008 would be triggered by demands for higher pay and better employment benefits, especial in respect of those major organisations that employees perceive to be making profits.

The LD appreciates that remuneration adjustments are commercial decisions made by the private sector, with little role for the Government. It is nevertheless our sincere wish that the differences between the employers and the employees can be resolved through a pragmatic attitude as well as frank and empathetic communications. Attitude determines the nature of labour relationship. If both parties "stand firm", "refuse to budge an inch" and hold a "must-win" mindset, then conflicts are naturally inevitable. However, if both parties accept and face up to their differences with an open mind, labour disputes can many a time provide an opportunity for business reviews and improvements. How 2008 would fare from the labour relations perspective would hinge entirely on the attitude employers and employees adopt in handling their relationship.

The LD has all along encouraged private enterprises to retain and develop staff through good human resource management and provision of a reasonable remuneration package. In tandem with continued economic buoyancy, LD will actively encourage employers to take into account the needs of their employees, treat them fairly and share with them the fruits of economic prosperity. We will remind employers through various channels that employees are the most valuable assets of a company. Employers must provide competitive wages and reasonable working conditions, as well as adopt good people management practices in order to recruit and retain talents to help sustain business success and development.

Personal Reflections
My fellow colleagues in the LD are highly professional, diligent and dedicated. They have given me sterling support. It is indeed my honour to work with such an excellent team.

The work of the LD is very meaningful. Its thrust and objectives are similar to those of my postings in recent years (e.g. external trade, education, poverty alleviation, etc.). No matter how prosperous our economy is, there are always some who are relatively disadvantaged. It would be in the long-term interest of Hong Kong to help them achieve self-reliance and, in turn, promote social mobility. Well-intentioned objectives require targeted measures to achieve. The increasingly complex environment has made the formulation of public policies a great challenge, especially so for value-laden social policies. Personally, I believe that we must use both the heart and the head - the heart to empathize others' plight which in turn helps us identify issues that require to be tackled; the head to put our emotions under control and let cool-headedness and objectivity reign when it comes to issue analysis and deliberation on specific measures. We should focus on the crux which may include the factors affecting the people or the organizations involved, whether the proposal would influence their motives and behaviour and thus bring about expected and sustainable results, the interests involved and their interactions, as well as the long-term impact on the society, etc.

Closing Remarks
In 2008, my colleagues and I would continue to discharge our duties in a professional, pragmatic and dedicated manner, endeavouring our best to implement labour policies and legislation. We would also maintain close ties with the Labour Advisory Board, the Legislative Council, trade unions, trade associations and other stakeholders. The LD would not tolerate any infringement of employees' legal rights. Rigorous enforcement actions would continue to be taken against wage offences, illegal employment and non-compliance with OSH legislation. We would also continue to be proactive in seeking to forestall incidents by promoting OSH messages and harmonious labour relations.

Industrial incidents, occupational diseases and labour disputes are not unavoidable. Similarly, the absence of industrial incidents and disputes is neither accidental, nor unachievable. Staying prepared always through conscientious work and communication would greatly reduce future regrets and the need to take remedial action.