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The SPT will also send the vacancy information to over 20 relevant trade unions, encouraging their members to apply for the jobs.

To strengthen the placement service to local workers, the SPT on the second floor of Tsuen Wan Government Offices will extend its working hours on Saturdays from noon to 5.30 pm during the campaign.

Mrs Chor urged local construction workers interested in the airport-related jobs to register at the SPT or any of the LES offices. They could also call the "jobs hotline" 2492 2001 for more information of the vacancies.

End

Trial of timed charge for public payphones

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) announced today (Thursday) that a trial of timed charges for public payphones will be conducted by the Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited (HKTC) for a three-month period from December 18, 1996 to March 18, 1997. About 400 payphones have been selected for the trial. The call charge for a local call on these phones will be $1 for 5 minutes.

"At present, the charge for making a local call at all HKTC operated public payphones is $1. There is no time limit to the length of the call. From time to time, OFTA receives submissions from the public about their concern over the prolonged occupation of some public payphones located in busy areas. The prolonged occupation of payphones is causing inconvenience to other users," a spokesman for the OFTA said.

"The purpose of this trial is to gather information on customers attitude and usage pattern on public payphones, in particular, whether putting a time limit to the $1 payphone charge will help ease the long queue problem in busy areas," the spokesman continued.

The kiosks of the payphones selected for the trial will be clearly labelled for easy identification. Buntings will be hung at the entrance to the kiosks of the payphones under trial and a label will be adhered to the phone informing users about the trial tariff. In addition, customers will be reminded 20 seconds before expiry of the paid call duration by a tone and a LCD display to insert another coin for continual usage.