TNAG-1855-FCO40-2630-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-memoranda-and-minutes-of-me-1989 — Page 144

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL-8 March 1989

香港立法局

.一九八九年三月八日

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somewhat departed from skill in favour of benefit to the economy. Is this now an additional criterion for the importation of foreign labour?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Sir, I am sorry if I gave that impression. I did not mean to say that skill was irrelevant. Clearly the skill that is looked for must be appropriate to the job it is sought to fill. I think that we look for in foreign domestic helpers skill in domestic help, and that is one of the criteria that the Immigration Department would assess when deciding whether an application for the import of a foreign domestic helper should be permitted. It is, though, not the only criterion. As I have mentioned, another criterion is that the importation of a particular worker must be of benefit to the economy of Hong Kong as a whole.

MR. McGREGOR: Sir, since the policy is being applied fairly and equally across the board in terms of the immigration of skilled workers such as Filipino maids, how many foreign construction workers have been permitted entry by the Government?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Sir, I do not have figures available of construction workers as a separate category. In 1988 somewhat over 9 000 workers other than domestic helpers were given permission to enter Hong Kong for employment.

潘志輝議員問:主席先生,政府可否具體告知本局,在現行政策下,除外籍家庭傭工在香港工作 外,還有哪幾類士人獲准在香港工作?同時,政府根據甚麼情況考慮放寬或收緊現行的政策?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Sir, the types of workers that have been admitted under the present policy have covered a very wide range, from top managers to artisans and technicians. They have similarly come from a very wide range of countries, countries in Asia and further afield. As regards the second part of the question, we have, I think, been concerned that the present policy for the importation of labour may not be fully understood by the public and, in particular, by employers and we are aware of the need to promote a better understanding of the present policy. We are considering how we could do this by publication, by distribution of information pamphlets explaining the policy and the procedures, by possibly the Immigration Department setting up a telephone hot-line to provide advice and to answer queries, and possibly by the department seeking opportunities to speak to industrial and trade associations.