- 31 -
Critics of Supplementary Labour Scheme challenged
The Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, today (Thursday) told the Legislative Council that a complete ban on the importation of labour is not the answer to unemployment problems and he challenges anyone to come up with a more open, fair and strict scheme than Government's proposed Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS).
Speaking at the resumed debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor's Policy Address, Mr Wong stressed that Hong Kong as an open and flexible economy must have the option to supplement the workforce with imported workers to fill vacancies that could not be filled locally.
"This ability to respond quickly to labour requirements is a major component in the maintenance and furtherance of our competitiveness. There may also be jobs which, because of their nature, may no longer be attractive to our now more sophisticated labour force," he said.
Mr Wong said up to now, he had not heard any rational argument as to why in these circumstances and following the termination of the General Scheme, the Government should not even retain a policy option of employing a limited number of foreign labour.
He noted that public feedback as expressed in an independent opinion poll and media comments had been generally very supportive of the proposed scheme.
Also, the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) at a meeting earlier today had agreed in principle to take on the role of monitoring the operation of the scheme.
"Procedures for vetting the applications and monitoring the scheme have been discussed and will be finalised having regard to the advice of the LAB members. They will be both stringent and transparent," he said.
Mr Wong pointed out that in his discussions with many Legislative Council Members in the last few weeks, he did not feel that there were fundamental differences between the Administration and Members on this issue.
"We share a mutual concern to ensure that local workers are not deprived of job opportunities," he said.
He urged Members to consider the Government's proposal in a positive light as the Government's attitude had always been positive and open.