1356
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 11 May 1988
think this is good enough. We do not think this is as it should be. And the plan which I mentioned for additional counters, additional immigration staff and the computerisation for Hong Kong identity cards at the counter will, I hope, provide a better service.
Written answers to questions
Protection for Hong Kong residents working abroad
4. MR. TAM asked: In view of the increasing number of local residents taking up employment abroad, will Government inform this Council what measures are being taken to ensure that these workers are given full protection as provided under the Employment Ordinance and the Employees' Compensation Ordinance?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Sir, statutory protection for this category of workers is provided by the Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance to safeguard the interests of manual workers who wish to take up employment wholly or partly outside Hong Kong.
This Ordinance requires the employer or his duly authorised representative to enter into a written contract with the worker. The contract must be signed by the worker and attested by the Labour Department before he leaves Hong Kong for employment.
The Ordinance requires that the contract must contain information about rates of wages and overtime, days and hours of work, rest days and public holidays. It must also provide for varying or terminating the contract and make the employer responsible for providing passages to and from the place of work for the worker.
The contract must also specify the employer's liability to pay for medical expenses and compensation for work injury. In essence, the rights and obliga- tions defined in the contract must be broadly in line with those provided under the Employment Ordinance and the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, both of which relate to employees in Hong Kong.
In so far as manual workers are concerned, the protection provided by the Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance is considered adequate. An employer or his agent may be prosecuted if he fails to enter into a written contract with a manual worker before departure or induces the worker to depart from Hong Kong for employment before the contract is attested. Upon conviction, an employer is liable to a fine of $50,000. In 1987, four prosecutions were taken out against employers for offences under the Ordinance and resulted in four convictions with fines totalling $8,000.
The Labour Department assists workers in settling disputes by conciliation. If conciliation fails, a case may be referred to the Labour Tribunal for adjudication upon request from the parties involved. In 1987, the Labour