Chapter 1 Highlights of Year 2021

1.1The labour market was under notable pressure in early 2021, but improved continuously from the second quarter of the year amid the sustained economic recovery and stabilised local epidemic situation. After reaching a 17-year high of 7.2% in December 2020 – February 2021, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell successively to 4.0% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Over the same period, the underemployment rate also fell from 3.9% to 1.7%. For 2021 as a whole, the unemployment rate averaged 5.2%, 0.6 percentage point lower than that in 2020, and the underemployment rate averaged 2.6%, also decreased by 0.7 percentage point. We will continue to closely monitor the labour market situation and enhance our employment services on all fronts, especially in canvassing job vacancies and rendering assistance to job seekers.

Employment Services

Employment and Recruitment Services

1.2To help job seekers enter the labour market and respond speedily to the recruitment needs of employers, the Labour Department (LD) organises employment promotion activities at various locations across the territory. A total of 13 large-scale job fairs, four online job fairs and 821 district-based job fairs were organised in the year.

1.3The LD adopts a proactive approach in providing employment assistance. For example, in major business closure or redundancy cases, we set up enquiry hotlines and special counters at our job centres to provide special employment services to affected employees. In the year, the free recruitment service provided for employers by the LD recorded 1 068 702 job vacancies from the private and public sectors; and 197 793 placements were secured.

Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme

1.4The LD launched the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme in January 2021 to encourage and support university graduates from Hong Kong to work in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area and to grasp the career development opportunities in the area.

Labour Relations

Promoting Harmonious Labour Relations

1.5To foster harmonious labour relations, the LD adopts a proactive and pragmatic approach in helping employers and employees resolve their disagreements through communication and mutual understanding. In 2021, we handled a total of 48 labour disputes and 11 064 claims. Over 70% of cases with conciliation service rendered were resolved. The average waiting time for conciliation meetings was 2.3 weeks in the year.

Sustaining Vigorous Enforcement against Wage Offences

1.6In 2021, the LD sustained its all-out efforts to combat wage offences, including breaches of the Statutory Minimum Wage provisions. Territory-wide inspection campaigns targeted at offence-prone trades were launched by labour inspectors. Apart from proactive inspections to check compliance, we widely publicised our complaint hotline (2815 2200) and collected intelligence on non-payment of wages in various industries through an early warning system in collaboration with trade unions. We conducted prompt investigation into suspected wage offences so as to facilitate speedy prosecution.

1.7We continued to take out prosecution against employers and responsible individuals of companies for wage offences. We also strengthened our educational and promotional efforts to remind employers of their statutory obligation to pay wages on time and to encourage employees to lodge claims promptly and come forward as prosecution witnesses.

Enhancing Good Human Resource Management Practices and Harmonious Labour Relations

1.8The LD organised a wide range of promotional activities including exhibitions, seminars and talks to promote public understanding of labour laws and publicise employee-oriented and good human resource management measures. In 2021, seminars were conducted for human resources managers and corporate executives, including the promotion of effective workplace communication. We continued the Good Employer Charter initiative in the year to further encourage more employers in different industries to adopt good human resource management, including the implementation of family-friendly employment practices in the workplace.

Employees’ Rights and Benefits

Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW)

1.9The Minimum Wage Commission (MWC), established under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO), is tasked with the function of reporting to the Chief Executive (CE) in Council its recommendation about the SMW rate at least once in every two years. The MWC comprises a chairperson and 12 members drawn from the labour sector, business community, academia and the Government. In February 2021, the CE in Council adopted the recommendation of the MWC to maintain the SMW rate at $37.5 per hour.

1.10The current two-year term of the MWC commenced on 1 March 2021, and had started the preparatory work of a new round of review on the SMW rate with a view to submitting the next recommendation report to the CE in Council by 31 October 2022.

Safeguarding the Rights of Employees of Government Service Contractors

1.11The Government introduced improvement measures since April 2019 to enhance the protection of non-skilled employees engaged by government service contractors, such as increasing the technical weighting (including the marks assigned to wage level) in the marking schemes for tender evaluation, and requiring contractors to pay contractual gratuity to employees. The review completed in January 2021 showed that the improvement measures were effective in enhancing the labour protection of employees, and the median hourly wage of them had increased by 23.8% after the implementation of these measures. The LD continued to step up inspections of workplaces to check government service contractors’ compliance with statutory requirements and the relevant improvement measures.

Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund

1.12The Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund provides assistance in the form of ex gratia payment to eligible employees affected by insolvency of their employers. The LD continued its efforts in clamping down at source on employers evading their wage liabilities, thus preventing wage defaults from developing into applications to the fund.

Vigorous Enforcement against Illegal Employment

1.13The LD collaborated with the Police and the Immigration Department to combat illegal employment activities. A total of 61 joint operations were mounted in the year.

Working Hours Policy

1.14The LD continued to engage its industry-based tripartite committees to formulate working hours guidelines, with suggested sector-specific working hours arrangements, overtime compensation arrangements and good working hours management measures for reference and adoption by employers and their employees. The LD also launched the Working Hours Situation Household Survey in 2021 to collect information on the working hours situation of the local workforce.

Reimbursement of Maternity Leave Pay (RMLP) Scheme

1.15In tandem with the extension of the statutory maternity leave from 10 weeks to 14 weeks in late 2020, the LD rolled out the RMLP Scheme on 1 April 2021 to fully reimburse employers for the additional statutory maternity leave pay, subject to a cap of $80,000 per employee. In 2021, the RMLP Scheme received 6 127 applications and approved 5 405 applications with reimbursement of $118 million.

Safety and Health at Work

Safety of Major Public Works Projects (PWPs)

1.16In light of the commencement of major PWPs (including major infrastructure projects), the LD continued to urge contractors to enhance construction site safety through stepping up inspection and enforcement, as well as promotion and education. These included conducting in-depth surprise inspections of major PWP sites with high risk processes or poor safety performance to scrutinise the safe system of work and safety management system of duty holders. We continued to participate actively in site safety management committee meetings of major PWPs to keep close tabs on the projects’ occupational safety and health (OSH) conditions and risks, with a view to devising more focused inspection strategies accordingly. During the meetings, we gave advice on work processes of higher risk and urged the contractors and relevant duty holders to conduct risk assessments, devise safe working method statements and implement safety measures as early as possible. We also strengthened the coordination with the Development Bureau, works departments and other public works project clients to enhance the site safety measures of major PWPs, with a view to ensuring more effective control of risks by contractors. We also launched enforcement operations with the Marine Department on sea-based construction works to deter work practices from contravening safety requirements.

Safety of Renovation, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition (RMAA) Works

1.17The volume of RMAA works is expected to grow further with the continuous ageing of buildings in Hong Kong and the erection of many new buildings.

1.18The LD continued to step up inspection and enforcement efforts to monitor the OSH of RMAA works and deter contractors from adopting unsafe work practices, so as to enhance the occupational safety condition of RMAA works. Territory-wide special enforcement operations on RMAA works with emphasis on high risk processes, such as work-at-height, truss-out scaffolding works, lifting operations and electrical work were also launched. During the special operations, 242 suspension/improvement notices were issued and 76 prosecutions were taken out. The LD has also stepped up area patrols to inspect RMAA works sites in a timely manner to curb high risk activities including unsafe work-above-ground.

1.19On the fronts of education and promotion, we organised a series of intensive promotion and publicity campaigns, targeting RMAA works, as well as the related work-at-height and electrical work to strengthen the safety awareness of all parties involved. These included continuing with the two-year publicity campaign which was launched in 2020 in collaboration with the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) with a wide range of initiatives seeking to target contractors and workers engaged in RMAA works more effectively and to impress upon them the importance of work safety. We also partnered with the Home Affairs Department and the property management sector to organise publicity and promotional activities to promulgate work safety at the district level.

1.20In 2021, the LD organised in collaboration with the OSHC a series of safety webinars concerning RMAA works to engage industry stakeholders in exploring means to further enhance construction safety. To encourage contractors appointed by property management companies or households of residential buildings and their workers to use suitable working platforms for work-above-ground, the LD collaborated with the OSHC as well as the property management and construction industries to launch the “Promoting the Use of Light-duty Working Platforms Scheme Phase II”. Through property management companies, step platforms and hop-up platforms (light-duty working platforms) would be lent to the contractors and workers for conducting above-ground RMAA works in the estates or residential buildings free of charge, so that ladders would not be used for such work.

Safety Promotional Campaigns

1.21With regard to the construction industry, to continue to improve its safety performance, the LD, in collaboration with the OSHC and related organisations, organised the “Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme” again to inculcate a work safety culture in the industry and to enhance the safety awareness of employers, employees and their families. The scheme featured a variety of activities which included organising safety performance competitions, roving exhibitions, safety quizzes, award presentation ceremony and producing radio programmes and the making-of the Award Scheme, as well as broadcasting Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) and promotional films on television/radio and public transport.

1.22Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LD suspended the “Catering Industry Safety Award Scheme” in 2021 to prevent the risk of spreading the virus as a result of group gatherings. However, with a view to maintaining the momentum of the industry on OSH improvement, the LD launched the “Catering Industry Safety Promotional Campaign” again to enhance the work safety and health awareness of employers and employees.

Strengthening Publicity of OSH Complaint Channels

1.23In order to facilitate employees and members of the public to lodge complaints against OSH malpractices more conveniently, the LD launched the online OSH complaint platform to facilitate complainants to lodge complaints by using online forms on unsafe working conditions and environments at workplaces. Such online forms are accessible on mobile electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptops. Upon receiving the complaints, the LD will, having regard to their nature and content, conduct investigations and follow-up actions as soon as possible with a view to preventing occurrence of accidents. We will continue to make use of various channels to publicise the online complaint platform to employees of different industries, including broadcast of TV and Radio Announcements in the Public Interest, distribution of posters, and through the platforms of OSH training course providers and workers registration service centres.

Work Safety Alert Animation

1.24The LD continued to produce Work Safety Alert in the form of animation videos to enable the industry to better comprehend how some accidents happened and the necessary safety measures to be taken to prevent such accidents. Two animation videos were produced, and uploaded to the LD’s website and disseminated through various channels in 2021.

1.25In addition, the LD continued to give sub-titles to the animation videos in different languages of diverse races in order to enhance the publicity and promotion targeting workers of diverse races.

Continuous Refinement of Mandatory Safety Training (MST) Courses

1.26In 2021, the LD launched the revamped Safety Training Courses for Operators of Crane and Safety Training Courses for Operators of Loadshifting Machine. The revisions included strengthening the introduction of the relevant OSH legislation and on the use of personal protective equipment, so as to further enhance the quality of the courses. In addition, to enhance the quality of MST courses, the LD revised the operation code and guidance notes of the “Approval Conditions for Operating Mandatory Safety Training Courses” to strengthen the sanctions against training course providers and their trainers violating the approval conditions. We also continued to conduct different modes of inspections to enhance the monitoring of course quality.

Prevention of Heat Stroke at work

1.27In addition to inspection and enforcement, the LD continued to enhance employers’ and workers’ awareness of heat stroke prevention through promotion and education, such as launching a large-scale promotion campaign, organising health talks, publicising through the media and organising outreach promotional activities in collaboration with different stakeholders in 2021. Besides, the LD and the OSHC launched the Portable Waist Fan Sponsorship Scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to sponsor SMEs in nine targeted industries to purchase portable waist fans for employees’ use at work to reduce heat stress.

Managing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases risk in the work environment

1.28The LD, in collaboration with the OSHC, the Department of Health as well as employers’ and employees’ organisations of the property management and construction industries, established a steering committee in September 2021 to promote the implementation of health-friendly measures at workplace and encourage employees of the industries concerned to properly manage their health and risks of contracting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work

1.29In 2021, the LD conducted open tendering to engage a service provider to implement the three-year Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work targeting injured employees from the construction industry. The programme will provide injured employees with rehabilitation treatment, case management and return-to-work facilitation services. The LD aims to launch the pilot programme in 2022.

Contacts with Other Labour Administrations

1.30Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LD mainly maintained liaison and interflows with other labour administrations through electronic means in 2021.

1.31In May to June and November to December 2021, a tripartite team comprising representatives from the Government, employers and employees, led by the Commissioner for Labour, Chris Sun, JP, attended the 109th Session of the International Labour Conference via video conferencing, as part of the delegation of the People’s Republic of China.