Labour Advisory Board Report 2019-2020 - Chapter 3

Activities in the 2019-2020 Term

3.1 Introduction

The Labour Advisory Board (LAB) held eight meetings during the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020 to advise on labour legislation, administrative measures on labour matters as well as other issues.

3.2 Consultation on Labour Legislation

Labour legislation items discussed by LAB are listed below:

Employment Ordinance

• To increase progressively the number of statutory holidays (SHs)
  • ※
    In view of the request of employee members of LAB to include the alignment of SHs in the agenda of an LAB meeting, the Labour Department (LD) briefed LAB on information on SHs and general holidays (GHs) in Hong Kong in December 2019.
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    In early 2020, the Chief Executive put forward a series of initiatives to further improve people’s livelihood, one of which was to increase progressively the number of SHs under the Employment Ordinance (EO), from existing 12 days to 17 days, so that it would be on a par with the number of GHs. To take forward this initiative, LD worked out a proposal and consulted LAB twice in October and November 2020 on the proposal.

Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board Ordinance

• To review the jurisdictional limit of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB)
  • ※
    LD consulted LAB in May 2019 and November 2020 on a proposal to increase the jurisdictional limit of MECAB in respect of the claim amount per claimant. At the meeting in November 2020, LAB supported the increase of this limit from $8,000 to $15,000.

Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance, Occupational Deafness (Compensation) Ordinance and Employees Compensation Assistance Ordinance

• To review the amounts of compensation / payment items and extend employees’ compensation (EC) protection
  • ※
    LAB discussed and supported at its meeting in November 2020 the proposals to adjust upwards the amounts of a total of 18 compensation items under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, the Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance and the Occupational Deafness (Compensation) Ordinance and the prescribed relief payment, prescribed monthly amount and prescribed monthly amount (extra) under the Employees Compensation Assistance Ordinance, and to extend EC protection to employees commuting to or from work under “extreme conditions”.

Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance

• To raise the penalties of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Legislation
  • ※
    Although the overall OSH performance in Hong Kong has greatly improved over the years, the improvement trend has clearly tapered off recently. The number of fatal industrial accidents sees no sign of decreasing in recent years. The community at large considers that the sentences handed down by the courts have failed to reflect the seriousness of the contraventions and are unable to pose sufficient deterrent effect on duty holders violating the law. LD therefore put forward a preliminary proposal to raise the maximum penalties of OSH legislation, including introducing indictable offences for extremely serious cases involving extremely high culpability or serious negligence and leading to serious consequences. LD has also, subject to the circumstances of individual cases, requested the Department of Justice to seek review of or to appeal against the penalties.
  • ※
    LAB discussed at its meeting in February 2019 the preliminary proposal. LD then conducted an extensive consultation on the preliminary proposal, including consulting the Legislative Council Panel on Manpower in March 2019. After careful consideration of the comments received, the Government has adjusted the amendment proposal as appropriate. The adjustments mainly involved modifying the maximum fine for the indictable offences and fine-tuning the re-alignment of the seriousness categories of OSH legislation.
  • ※
    LD consulted LAB at the meeting in November 2020 on the revised proposal.

3.3 Consultation on Administrative Measures on Labour Matters

• Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work
  • ※
    The Government recognises that timely and well-coordinated rehabilitation treatment services are critical to early recovery and return to work for injured employees. At present, injured employees using public rehabilitation services are facing relatively long waiting time. As a result, some of them may miss the optimal period for rehabilitation interventions.
  • ※
    In the 2019 Policy Address, the Government proposed to introduce a three-year Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work (Pilot Programme) targeting injured employees from the construction industry. A case management approach will be adopted to provide private out-patient rehabilitation treatment services for the participating injured employees in a timely and well-coordinated manner to facilitate their early recovery and return to work.
  • ※
    LAB discussed in October 2019 the proposal for introducing the Pilot Programme. LAB supported the design and proposed mechanics of the Programme.
• LAB was also briefed or consulted on the following labour matters:
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    Items pertaining to labour in the 2019 Policy Address and the 2020 Policy Address, including the progress of work on abolition of using the accrued benefits of employers’ mandatory contributions under the Mandatory Provident Fund System to offset severance payment and long service payment, the establishment of a dedicated Foreign Domestic Helpers Division, the launch of the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, etc.;
  • ※
    Services provided by LD for employers and employees and relevant measures introduced by other government departments / organisations amidst the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), including employees’ compensation for contracting COVID-19 at work; and
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    Implementation arrangements of the extension of four weeks’ statutory maternity leave under EO, including the formulation of a new Reimbursement of Maternity Leave Pay Scheme to reimburse employers’ payment of the additional four weeks’ maternity leave pay.

3.4 Consultation on Other Measures

• LAB noted and gave its views on the work arrangements following announcement of “extreme conditions” by the Government after super typhoons.

3.5 Supplementary Labour Scheme

Operating on the principle of according employment priority to local workers, the Government approves the importation of workers at technician level or below under the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS) only if employers cannot recruit local workers to fill the relevant job vacancies. LD invites LAB members’ views on applications under SLS, before the Commissioner for Labour approves or refuses the relevant applications. During the 2019-2020 term, LAB provided views on 2 120 applications for labour importation.

To ensure effective attainment of the policy objective of SLS, a working group on SLS has been formed under LAB. The terms of reference, composition and membership of the working group are at Appendix VI.

3.6 Participating in the International Labour Conference

LAB members attend the annual International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland as part of the delegation of the People’s Republic of China. The Conference provides a valuable forum for LAB members to exchange views, share experience and establish contacts with delegates from different Members of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The 108^th Session of the International Labour Conference was held from 10 to 21 June 2019. It is also named as the Centenary Conference as 2019 marks the 100^th anniversary of the ILO. Members of the tripartite team from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) were:

Representatives of the HKSAR attending the 108^th Session of the International Labour Conference

The Conference was attended by some 6 000 government, employer and employee delegates representing 187 Members of ILO. To mark the celebration of the Centenary of ILO, the Conference held a high-level section of the plenary to receive the visits of some 30 heads of State and Government. The HKSAR representatives attended the plenary sessions of the Conference, meetings of the Committee on the Application of Standards, Committee of the Whole to consider an ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, and Standard Setting Committee on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, as well as thematic debates and forums connected to the Future of Work on the occasion of ILO’s Centenary.

The 109^th Session of the International Labour Conference, originally scheduled to be held from 25 May to 5 June 2020, was deferred to June 2021 in light of COVID-19.