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She said to maintain Hong Kong's competitive edge, it had to retain the policy option of importing labour to meet Hong Kong's economic needs.
Explaining the Government's intention to terminate the General Scheme for Importation of Labour introduced since 1989 which now had a quota ceiling of 25,000 and to replace it with a Supplementary Labour Scheme with a quota ceiling of 5,000 from next January, she said: "Employers will have to satisfy us that their jobs cannot be filled locally."
They would have to register with the Labour Department and join the Job Matching Programme and the Employees Retraining Board would be involved to provide tailor made training or on the job training for local workers where appropriate.
She said the scheme struck a reasonable balance between the interests of employers and those of the workforce and was in the overall interest of the economy.
"A total ban on imported labour is not the panacea to unemployment which is caused largely by the continuous transformation of our economy," she added.
"The solution lies in maintaining a favourable business environment including the flexibility for employers to recruit suitable staff; in providing quality education to meet our needs into the 21st century; and in providing retraining and job matching to help the unemployed to return to the workforce."
On the political system, Mrs Chan said she was confident that the Government's legislative and financial programmes would be handled fairly and expeditiously in the same way as in the past in the new LegCo.
She said the Governor had reminded us that he had the duty to withhold assent to any Bill passed by LegCo which, in his view, would be contrary to the best interests of the people of Hong Kong.
"But the Government is committed to cooperating with Legislative Council, and I want to discuss with Legislative Council members a number of issues relating to the handling of Government business in the Council," she said.
"But the essential point remains that we have to work closely together to discharge our responsibilities in the interests of the whole community."
End/Friday, October 13, 1995