HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
437
our image in the hearts of the residents will be severely undermined if we cannot even deal with basic problems.
When the General Duties Team underwent reorganisation to become the Hawker Control Team, the Councillors in the previous term all cherished high hopes. They felt that reorganisation would bring about major improvements in discipline and other areas. Reorganisation has been completed, but there do not seem to be notable improvements in the hawker problem. It was pointed out in a recent report on salaries that while there was no marked difference between the starting salary of rank-and-file policemen and that of the Hawker Control Officer grade, the starting point of Principal Hawker Control Officer was higher than that of Station Sergeants of the police force. It appears that we are running out of excuses. Do the problems which have drawn criticism from the residents lie in our establishment, morale, discipline or strategy?
Just now, a Councillor, quoting from data supplied by the Urban Services Department, said that the number of unlicensed hawkers had dwindled. Each time discussion on illegal hawking is held, departmental officers invariably produce lots of arrest and prosecution figures. For example, we witnessed recently the Hawker Control Task Force's achievements in its highly concentrated clearance operations at night in Mong Kok. Those achievements seem to indicate that departmental staff have done a lot of work. However, on a particular night when there are no unlicensed hawkers in Mong Kok, there are in fact numerous counterparts of theirs in other districts such as Kwun Tong, Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po, Yau Ma Ti, and Tsim Sha Tsui.
The major reason is that at first, we thought that a Hawker Control Task Force alone was able to deal with unlicensed food premises and hawkers at night. Actually, it was after the Working Group had commenced work that I came to know that the Task Force only operated on a two-shift system. Because their working hours are from ten o'clock in the morning to ten o'clock in the evening, they conduct clearance operations in the early morning and at night as ‘overtime work'. A short while ago, the department mentioned the adoption of the three-shift system in a paper on the review of the Hawker Control setup. All along, we took for granted the Task Force definitely work at night. It turned out that it was not until recently that the bare essentials were finally met.
Having a three-shift system means that we will no longer have to pay fees for 'overtime work' for enforcement to be carried out at night. We have altogether 15 Hawker Control Task Forces, that is, nine in Kowloon and six on Hong Kong Island. But how many of those forces are on 'night shift"? Are there not three forces in Kowloon and two on Hong Kong Island? Can the three forces in Kowloon and two on Hong Kong Island deal with the unlicensed food premises and numerous hawker black spots at night? Many Councillors or a small number of departmental officers would say that the central Hawker Control Task Forces are able to tackle the problem because unlicensed hawking does not exist in every district, and that the problem of unlicensed hawking arises from social and economic factors and cannot be solved.
Page 393 of 498
Page 393 of 498
Page 393 of 498
Page
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
437
our image in the hearts of the residents will be severely undermined if we cannot even deal with basic problems.
When the General Duties Team underwent reorganisation to become the Hawker Control Team, the Councillors in the previous term all cherished high hopes. They felt that reorganisation would bring about major improvements in discipline and other areas. Reorganisation has been completed, but there do not seem to be notable improvements in the hawker problem. It was pointed out in a recent report on salaries that while there was no marked difference between the starting salary of rank-and-file policemen and that of the Hawker Control Officer grade, the starting point of Principal Hawker Control Officer was higher than that of Station Sergeants of the police force. It appears that we are running out of excuses. Do the problems which have drawn criticism from the residents lie in our establishment, morale, discipline or strategy? Just now, a Councillor, quoting from data supplied by the Urban Services Department, said that the number of unlicensed hawkers had dwindled. Each time discussion on illegal hawking is held, departmental officers invariably produce lots of arrest and prosecution figures. For example, we witnessed recently the Hawker Control Task Force's achievements in its highly concentrated clearance operations at night in Mong Kok. Those achievements seem to indicate that departmental staff have done a lot of work. However, on a particular night when there are no unlicensed hawkers in Mong Kok, there are in fact numerous counterparts of theirs in other districts such as Kwun Tong, Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po, Yau Ma Ti, and Tsim Sha Tsui. The major reason is that at first, we thought that a Hawker Control Task Force alone was able to deal with unlicensed food premises and hawkers at night. Actually, it was after the Working Group had commenced work that I came to know that the Task Force only operated on a two-shift system. Because their working hours are from ten o'clock in the morning to ten o'clock in the evening, they conduct clearance operations in the early morning and at night as ‘overtime work'. A short while ago, the department mentioned the adoption of the three-shift system in a paper on the review of the Hawker Control setup. All along, we took for granted the Task Force definitely work at night. It turned out that it was not until recently that the bare essentials were finally met.
Having a three-shift system means that we will no longer have to pay fees for 'overtime work' for enforcement to be carried out at night. We have altogether 15 Hawker Control Task Forces, that is, nine in Kowloon and six on Hong Kong Island. But how many of those forces are on 'night shift"? Are there not three forces in Kowloon and two on Hong Kong Island? Can the three forces in Kowloon and two on Hong Kong Island deal with the unlicensed food premises and numerous hawker black spots at night? Many Councillors or a small number of departmental officers would say that the central Hawker Control Task Forces are able to tackle the problem because unlicensed hawking does not exist in every district, and that the problem of unlicensed hawking arises from social and economic factors and cannot be solved.
Page 393 of 498.
Page 393 of 498
Page 393 of 498
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