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The Authority fully recognises the concern of the Bills Committee about the impact of an upper age limit for security personnel. On the other hand, it is mindful of the need to upgrade the standard of security services. Taking into account these two factors, the Authority now proposes that, as an exception, there should not be a fixed upper age limit for security personnel working in "single private residential buildings". However, when they reach the age of 70, they must pass a biennial medical examination in order to continue to work as watchmen in these buildings. Actually, the Authority considers that 65 years should be the appropriate age criterion for a medical examination in order to upgrade the service standard of this category of security work. However, in order to minimise the impact on the employment prospect of existing elderly watchmen in single private residential buildings, the Authority proposes the age criterion of 70 as a transitional arrangement, and lowering it to 65 after five years.
Some Members of the LegCo Sub-committee formed to study this Motion were concerned that employment opportunities for the elderly watchmen would still be very limited. It appears that they may have some misunderstandings about the definition of "single private residential buildings". I would therefore like to draw Honourable Members' attention to the definition set out in the notice. A "single private residential building" is defined as an independent structure that is covered by a roof and enclosed by walls extending from the foundation to the roof, which is used substantially for private residential purpose, and has only one main access point. There is no limit on the number of households that these buildings may house, but the requirement of one main access point would ensure that these buildings can be adequately guarded by elderly watchmen. This definition applies even to individual blocks of large housing complexes.
Some Members of the Sub-committee were also concerned about the upper age limit of 65 for Category B work i.e. guarding work for all types of premises and properties. I trust Honourable Members would bear in mind that the purpose of the Ordinance is to improve the standards of security services which the public are entitled to expect. Security work under category B is very diverse. It covers all types of guarding work such as that in large commercial complexes, hotels, banks, shopping arcades and industrial buildings. Security personnel engaging in this type of work, generally require greater alertness, vigilance, and physical fitness than security personnel working in single private residential buildings. An upper age limit for Category B work is, therefore, necessary in order to ensure that these guards are capable of carrying out their duties.