XN000022-1995-11-09 — Page 8

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I think that we do need to make sure, as you said, that fines do deter, that sentences do deter, because illegal employment abuse is not only unfair to the broader community but is unfair to the individual workers concerned who are often working in appalling and sometimes dangerous conditions as well. So I would like to follow up that point that you made. We need tougher enforcement, and as Joseph said earlier, we do need to have a regular review of those who come into Hong Kong for training, and the Director of Immigration made that point too.

Secondly, I think there is general agreement that with 50,000 vacancies for example, and the mismatch between vacancies and people looking for jobs, we need to put more effort, and as Selina Chow said, more resources, into our Job Matching Programme. Martin Barrow made a number of proposals during his remarks. For example, an index of vacant jobs, a register for those seeking work. We need to follow up the point that was made about vacancies in the public sector and see if we can reduce the percentage vacancies, which would help those seeking work. And I also think the idea of job fairs is one that should be followed up.

Next, there was obviously a good deal of emphasis on the importance of working with the Employees Retraining Board and the Vocational Training Council to review their work and priorities, and I think there is a general view that we should try to plan ahead for the job market over the next five to ten years as a result of the studies that we are doing with the Employees Retraining Board and the VTC.

I do want to assure the new Chairman of the Employees Retraining Board that we are not going to allow financial constraints to grip or confine his activities in any way. And I say that with the Financial Secretary sitting beside me. It is an important point and I am sure that all of us recognise that training and education, developing our skill and education base, our knowledge base, have to be two of our principal priorities for public resources, given their impact on our economy.

We had a number of practical examples from employers of their genuine difficulties, even in the present state of the job market, in getting the employees that they want. And I do think that we need to allow our basic philosophical positions from time to time to be fertilised by the facts, and there were one or two interesting facts that we heard this afternoon. I am sure that everyone in this room wants local jobs for local people, in Ian Christie's phrase; and as Martin Barrow said, I am sure that all of us want to put Hong Kong workers first. But we do have to find a system which not only meets those requirements but also meets the genuine requirements of some employers who have difficulties finding individuals for jobs.