XN000022-1989-08-03 — Page 4

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1989

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"OF THE 2,323 PROPOSED FOR IMPORTATION

TO HONG KONG BY CHINA. OTHER

EMPLOYERS, AOBUT THREE QUARTERS ARE LIKELY TO COME FROM MAJOR SOURCES INCLUDE THE PHILIPPINES AND THAILAND, HE ADDED.

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"EMPLOYERS WILL BE INFORMED OF THE RESULT OF THEIR APPLICATION BY AUGUST 15. THOSE WHO DO NOT RECEIVE A REPLY BY THEN SHOULD CONTACT THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT,' MR TSANG SAID.

"EMPLOYERS WHOSE APPLICATION IS SUCCESSFUL WILL BE GIVEN TWO MONTHS TO RECRUIT WORKERS AND TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR VISAS. STANDARD CONTRACTS WHICH ARE AVAILABLE FREE AT THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE USED, HE SAID.

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MR TSANG STRESSED THAT ENTRY VISAS FOR SKILLED WORKERS WOULD ONLY BE GRANTED ON THE BASIS OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS NOT EXCEEDING TWO YEARS, AND THAT RENEWAL OF CONTRACTS WOULD NOT NORMALLY ВЕ APPROVED.

HE EXPLAINED THAT THE STEERING GROUP HAD VETTED ALL APPLICATIONS STRICTLY AGAINST THE PUBLISHED CRITERIA. THOSE APPLICATIONS WHICH WERE NOT APPROVED HAD FAILED TO MEET THE CRITERIA LAID DOWN.

"THEY COULD NOT BE APPROVED BECAUSE ACCORDING TO INFORMATION FURNISHED BY THE EMPLOYERS THE JOBS TO BE PERFORMED ARE SEMI-SKILLED OR UNSKILLED; EMPLOYERS ARE UNWILLING TO PAY MARKET WAGES; OR THE PROPOSED NUMBER OF IMPORTED WORKERS EXCEEDS 20 PER CENT OF A COMPANY'S LOCAL LABOUR FORCE AT THE SAME SKILL.

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THE STEERING GROUP WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF

THE SCHEME AND ITS EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY AND COMMUNITY,

"THE GROUP WILL REVIEW THE SCHEME LATER THIS YEAR IN THE LIGHT OF THE TAKE-UP RATE OF TIIE QUOTA APPROVED AND THE ECONOMIC AND EMPLOYMENT SITUATION AT THAT TIME, MR TSANG SAID.

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"THE PRESENT SCHEME OF IMPORTATION OF LABOUR AIMS AT GETTING SKILLED LABOUR AT SUPERVISOR, TECHNICIAN AND CRAFTSMAN LEVELS.

"THERE ARE EXISTING WORKERS POSSESSING HIGHER

PROFESSIONALS.

ARRANGEMENTS ALLOWING IMPORTATION SKILLS SUCH AS TECHNOLOGISTS

OF

AND

THE

LEVEL ARE

"THESE ARRANGEMENTS WILL CONTINUE UNDER CURRENT POLICY AND NUMBERS TO BE ADMITTED AT THE TECHNOLOGIST OR PROFESSIONAL NOT RESTRICTED," MR TSANG CONCLUDED.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

MR TSANG WILL BRIEF MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES ON THE THE SCHEME TO ALLOW THE IMPORTATION OF SKILLED LABOUR AT [THURSDAY) IN ROOM 442, CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES, EAST ALBERT ROAD, HONG KONG.

RESULTS OF 4 PM TODAY WING, LOWER

/IMPORTATION OF

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