XN000022-1996-03-18 — Page 5

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Contractors also need to keep the wage record and acknowledgement list for inspection; to arrange the distribution to workers their monthly bank statement so that they know all transactions of his bank account; and refrain from keeping passbooks or electronic teller machine cards of imported workers.

ID has also made it a condition of approval of entry visa that each imported worker is required to produce his original copy of employment contract for inspection at the time of their registration for Hong Kong Identity Card. Moreover, ID has made it a condition of approval for extension of stay that employers are required to provide a Certification of Wage with workers' signature, declaring that the workers are working in the specified posts and have been paid wages in accordance with their employment

contracts.

Mr Wong stressed that the government would not tolerate any abuses of the Scheme and would take all possible measures to combat them.

"Any employers who have breached the labour laws will be liable to prosecutions and sanctions will be imposed on those who are in breach of the conditions of the Scheme, including the withdrawal of quotas, and refusal of future applications to import workers under the Scheme." Mr Wong said.

End

Latest unemployment and underemployment figures

The provisional seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the period December 1995 - February 1996 edged further lower to 3.1%, while the provisional underemployment rate was also lower, at 2.2%. These latest labour force statistics are released today (Monday) by the Census and Statistics Department.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the period November 1995 - January 1996 was 3.2%, and the underemployment rate was 2.4%.

Commenting on the latest figures, a Government spokesman said that decreases in the unemployment rate were recorded in most major sectors, including restaurants and hotels, transport, construction and manufacturing. As to the underemployment rate, decreases were recorded mainly in the construction and transport sectors. In overall terms, the labour market continued to stabilise in the most recent months.