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Mr Wong said the Government had drawn up a tentative list of jobs which will not normally be approved in the SLS. However employers who can demonstrate a genuine need for imported workers in these job categories may submit applications to the Labour Department for consideration.
"We believe that this arrangement is necessary to facilitate the screening out of undeserving applications by the Labour Department," Mr Wong said,
On the labour importation scheme for the new airport core (ACP) projects, Mr Wong said the scheme would continue in its present form with improved arrangements to facilitate and promote the recruitment of local workers.
In order to encourage local workers to apply for ACP job vacancies, the Airport Authority and the MTRC will set up an ACP Job Centre in town in mid-January 1996.
Job vacancies will be displayed at the job centre and it will be used for receiving job applications, conducting recruitment interviews and making arrangements for signing of employment contracts.
In addition to the existing free ferry services provided for the ACP workers, new ferry services from the Hong Kong side and Kowloon to Chek Lap Kok will be introduced on a trial basis in mid-January 1996. Also, accommodation is now available for local workers at Chek Lap Kok where about 30 local workers are living there at the moment.
Mr Wong announced that in view of the easing in labour market conditions and the introduction of the Supplementary Labour Scheme, the Government had decided to terminate the General Labour Importation Scheme and allowed it to run down naturally.
The Education and Manpower Branch has produced a pamphlet to explain the policy objective, the application, processing and monitoring procedures of the SLS.
The tentative list of job categories which would normally be excluded from the scheme is also published in the pamphlet which is being sent to employers' and employees' representatives, trade unions, major trade and industrial organisations, and members of the Labour Advisory Board.
End