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Government fully subscribes to equal opportunities
The Government fully subscribes to the idea of equal opportunities and had taken positive and proactive steps to realise this goal, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Michael Suen, said today (Tuesday).
Mr Suen was speaking at a seminar and workshop on equal opportunities jointly organised by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.
The Sex Discrimination Ordinance, he said, was passed by the Legislative Council last month. The objective of the ordinance was to make sex discrimination, as well as discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and marital status and sexual harassment, unlawful.
The provisions of the ordinance are enforced through two channels: the Equal Opportunities Commission and the court.
Under the ordinance, the Commission is empowered to provide assistance to persons who have been subjected to unlawful discrimination either by conciliation of the matter in dispute, or, where conciliation fails, by providing appropriate assistance in respect of proceedings before the District Court.
Mr Suen said: "None of us would wish to see Hong Kong turning into a litigious society, the conciliation role of the Commission is therefore particularly important as it will help to reduce the number of disputes required to be resolved by proceedings before the court."
To enhance the effectiveness of the Commission's conciliation work, it is empowered to make rules to direct persons relevant to a complaint to attend conferences, with a view to resolving the matter in dispute. The Commission is also empowered to carry out formal investigations and issue enforcement notices requesting persons to discontinue their discriminatory practices.
"Taken together, the provisions in the ordinance will provide an efficient and accessible avenue of redress for the aggrieved," Mr Suen stressed.