Labour Advisory Board Report 2017-2018 - Chapter 3

Activities in the 2017-2018 Term

3.1 Introduction

The Labour Advisory Board (LAB) held 11 meetings during the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2018 to advise on labour legislation, administrative measures on labour matters as well as other issues.

3.2 Consultation on Labour Legislation

LAB discussed eight items of labour legislation. The items and their progress are listed below:

Employment Ordinance

• To amend the reinstatement and re-engagement provisions
  • ※
    Based on the consensus of LAB, the Government introduced the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2017 into the Legislative Council (LegCo) on 17 May 2017. The Bill sought to amend the reinstatement and re-engagement provisions so as to enhance protection for employees in circumstances of unreasonable and unlawful dismissal.
  • ※
    During the scrutiny of the Bill by LegCo, a LegCo Member proposed Committee Stage Amendments (CSAs) which would make substantial changes to the Bill, and the issues touched upon in CSAs had never been discussed by the Bills Committee and represented a major departure from the consensus of LAB. The Labour Department (LD) reported the matter to LAB at its meeting in March 2018. LAB considered that the Government could resume the Second Reading debate of the Bill on the basis of its original version. The Second Reading debate of the Bill was resumed on 16 May 2018.
  • ※
    The Bill was passed by LegCo on 17 May 2018 and came into operation on 19 October 2018.
• To amend provisions on regulating employment agencies (EAs)
  • ※
    To strengthen the regulation of EAs, the Government, after consultation with LAB in April 2017, introduced the Employment (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 into LegCo on 28 June 2017 to impose a heavier penalty on EAs for the offences of overcharging job seekers commission and operating without licence from a maximum fine of $50,000 to a maximum fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years; to extend the criminal liability of the offence of overcharging job seekers to associates of the EA concerned in addition to its licensee; to provide new grounds for the Commissioner for Labour (C for L) to consider refusing to issue or renew or revoking an EA licence; and to provide that C for L may issue from time to time Code of Practice for EAs and render legal basis for the Code.
  • ※
    The Government subsequently proposed a CSA to extend the statutory time limit for prosecution of offences concerning overcharging job seekers and unlicensed operation of EAs from six months to 12 months after the commission of the offence.
  • ※
    The Bill was passed by LegCo on 1 February 2018 and came into operation on 9 February 2018.
• To increase statutory paternity leave (PL) days
  • ※
    LD reported the outcome of the review of the implementation of statutory PL to LAB and sought its views on the proposed improvement in November 2017. Based on the consensus of LAB, the Government introduced the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2018 into LegCo on 20 June 2018 to increase statutory PL from three days to five days.
  • ※
    The Bill was passed by LegCo on 25 October 2018 and came into operation on 18 January 2019.
• To review statutory maternity leave (ML)
  • ※
    LD briefed LAB on the outcome of the review of statutory ML and consulted it on the proposed amendments in November 2018. LAB supported the proposal for increasing statutory ML from 10 weeks to 14 weeks and the two proposed technical amendments related to the definition of “miscarriage” and entitlement to sickness allowance for attending pre-natal medical examination. It also deliberated on the proposed cap of $36,822 for maternity leave pay in respect of the newly added four weeks’ ML.
  • ※
    The Government consulted the LegCo Panel on Manpower on the proposal in December 2018 and commenced the work on drafting the enabling legislation.
• To abolish the use of employers’ mandatory contributions under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) System to offset severance payment (SP) and long service payment (LSP) (Abolition of the MPF “offsetting”)
  • ※
    LAB discussed several times the previous-term Government’s proposal of progressive abolition of the MPF “offsetting” in 2017 and the preliminary idea of the current-term Government in 2018.
  • ※
    Having carefully considered the views of LAB and other stakeholders, the Chief Executive announced in the 2018 Policy Address and the Government briefed LAB on the enhanced arrangements for abolition of the MPF “offsetting” in October 2018. The enhanced arrangements included significantly extending the period of the second-tier subsidy under the Government’s two-tier subsidy scheme for employers from 12 years to 25 years, with the estimated total financial commitment of the Government increased to $29.3 billion. Other abolition arrangements involved assisting employers to set up designated saving accounts under their own names to save up in advance to meet the potential SP / LSP expenses in future, and maintaining the current calculation rate and ceiling for SP / LSP, etc.
  • ※
    The Government briefed the LegCo Panel on Manpower in November 2018 and would prepare the enabling legislation to implement the arrangements for the abolition of the “offsetting”.

Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance

• To increase the maximum daily rates of reimbursable medical expenses
  • ※
    LAB endorsed in June 2017 the proposal for increasing the maximum daily rates of reimbursable medical expenses, namely, the maximum daily rate for in-patient or out-patient treatment to be increased from $200 to $300, and the maximum daily rate for

    in-patient and out-patient treatment received on the same day to be raised from $280 to $370.
  • ※
    The relevant resolutions were passed by LegCo on 1 February 2018. The revised maximum daily rates of reimbursable medical expenses came into operation on 9 February 2018.

Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance

• To raise the levy threshold
  • ※
    LAB discussed in March 2018 the proposal for raising the levy threshold from $1 million to $3 million as recommended by the Construction Industry Council. LAB had no objection to the proposal.
  • ※
    The relevant resolution was passed by LegCo on 27 June 2018. The revised levy threshold came into operation on 30 July 2018.

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

• To increase the amounts of compensation items and expand the list of medical appliances
  • ※
    LAB endorsed in November 2018 the proposal for adjusting upwards the amounts of 18 compensation items under the three Ordinances by 4.34% to 81.47% and expanding the list of medical appliances under the Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance to include two new items.
  • ※
    The relevant resolutions were passed by LegCo on 3 April 2019. The new levels of compensation and the expanded list of medical appliances came into operation on 26 April 2019.

3.3 Consultation on Administrative Measures on Labour Matters

LAB was briefed or consulted on the following labour matters:

• items pertaining to labour in the 2017 Policy Address and the 2018 Policy Address; and
• way forward of the working hours policy.

3.4 Consultation on Other Legislation and Measures

• LAB noted and gave its views on the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendment) Bill as consulted by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau.
• LAB noted and gave its views on the progress and proposal of drawing up a Talent List as consulted by the Labour and Welfare Bureau and other relevant Bureaux / Departments.
• LAB noted and gave its views on the legislative proposals for introducing a statutory corporate rescue procedure and insolvent trading provisions as consulted by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau.

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 C for L approves or refuses the relevant applications. During the 2017-2018 term, LAB provided views on 1 953 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 106^th Session of the International Labour Conference was held from 5 to 16 June 2017. Members of the tripartite team from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) were:

Representatives of the HKSAR

attending the 106^th Session of the International Labour Conference

Representatives of the HKSAR

attending the 107^th Session of the International Labour Conference

More than 5 000 government, employer and employee delegates representing 187 Members of ILO participated in the Conference. The HKSAR representatives attended the plenary sessions of the Conference and meetings of the Committee on the Application of Standards, Committee on Effective ILO Development Cooperation, Committee on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, Committee on Social Dialogue and Tripartism and the World of Work Summit.

3.7 Liaison with ILO

Ms Tomoko Nishimoto, Regional Director of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific visited Hong Kong and met with LAB members in March 2017 to exchange views on the latest development of international labour affairs.