Annual Report 2008

The Labour Department is the principal agency in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government responsible for the execution and co-ordination of major labour administration functions. For details of our structure and services, please visit our website: This link will open in a new windowwww.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 employee 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 Employee Rights and Benefits. The objectives of these areas are set out below:

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

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

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, participation in International Labour Organisation activities, and liaison with labour administration counterparts in the Mainland or other countries. Besides, the division manages the departmental reference library, collects information pertaining to labour administration and co-ordinates training activities for staff of the Labour Administration Branch. In addition, the division provides secretariat support to the Labour Advisory Board.

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.

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 following webpage: This link will open in a new windowwww.labour.gov.hk/eng/perform/content.htm

The department consults various advisory boards and committees on labour matters. The most important one is the Labour Advisory Board (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 Organization. The terms of reference and composition of the LAB and its membership for the year 2008 are in Figure 2.3.

The term of the LAB expired at the end of 2008. An election to return the employee representatives for the new term of the LAB was held on October 25, 2008. 11 candidates vied for five seats. Altogether, 368 registered employee unions took part in the voting. The five newly-elected employee representatives will serve the LAB for the next two-year term.