Chapter 2 The Labour Department

The Labour Department is the principal agency in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government responsible for the execution and co-ordination of major labour administration functions. For details of our structure and services, please visit our website: www.labour.gov.hk.

We aspire to be a leading labour administrator in the region. Our aim is to enhance the well-being of our workforce progressively and to promote the safety and health of those at work at a pace commensurate with the socio-economic development of Hong Kong.

• To improve the utilisation of human resources by providing a range of employment services to meet changes and needs in the labour market;
• To ensure that risks to people's safety and health at work are properly managed by legislation, education and promotion;
• To foster harmonious labour relations through promotion of good employment practices and resolution of labour disputes; and
• To improve and safeguard employees' rights and benefits in an equitable manner.

We believe in:

• Professional excellence
• Pro-activeness
• Premier customer service
• Partnership
• Participation

The department has four key areas of work, namely, Labour Relations, Safety and Health at Work, Employment Services, and Employees' Rights and Benefits. The objectives of these areas are set out below:

• To foster and maintain harmonious employer and employee relations in the non-governmental sector.

• To help employers and employees control their risks at work through legislation and enforcement, education and training, as well as publicity and promotion.

• To provide free employment assistance and counselling services to help job-seekers find suitable jobs and employers fill their vacancies.

• To improve and safeguard the rights and benefits of employees.

Detailed functions and major activities of these programme areas are contained in the following chapters.

The Administration Division assumes the primary responsibility for financial, personnel and general resources management.

The Information and Public Relations Division is responsible for the department's overall strategy on publicity and public relations. It mounts extensive publicity and explains the policy and work of the department to the public through the media, and co-ordinates the production of major departmental publications.

The Development Division mainly oversees matters relating to the application of International Labour Conventions in HKSAR, participation in International Labour Organisation activities, and liaison with labour administration authorities in the Mainland and other places. Besides, the division manages the departmental reference library, collects information pertaining to labour administration and provides secretariat support to the Labour Advisory Board (LAB).

The Prosecutions Division and the Legal Services Division help enforce relevant legislation by instituting prosecutions against suspected offenders. Major statistics on prosecution work are at Figure 2.1.

The Occupational Safety and Health Training Centre organises and co-ordinates training and development activities for staff of the Occupational Safety and Health Branch.

The Information Technology Management Unit offers support and advice to the development and management of information technology services.

The Staff Training and Development Division is responsible for implementing the staff training and development policies and coordinating training activities for staff of the Labour Administration Branch.

An organisation chart of the department is set out at Figure 2.2.

Performance standards and targets are laid down for a wide range of services. A Customer Liaison Group has been formed to collect feedback from users of the department's pledged services. For details of our performance pledges, please visit the webpage: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/perform/content.htm

The department consults various advisory boards and committees on labour matters. The most important one is the LAB. It is a high-level and representative tripartite advisory body with members from the employee and employer sectors as well as the Government. It advises the Commissioner for Labour on matters affecting labour, including legislation as well as Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organisation. The terms of reference and composition of LAB and its membership for the year 2010 are in Figure 2.3.

The term of LAB expired at the end of 2010. An election to return the employee representatives for the new term of LAB was held on November 27, 2010. 11 candidates vied for five seats. Altogether, 368 registered employee unions took part in the voting. The five newly-elected employee representatives will serve LAB for the next two-year term.