Page 176 of 606
PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
173
In resolving to introduce the above measures to ensure that employees of the contractors would be paid 'fair market wages' instead of adopting the 'minimum wages' arrangements, the Administration Select Committee has taken the following factors into consideration:
(1) It is technically difficult to pursue a policy of minimum wages. As the rates of wages in the labour market are fast changing, the 'minimum wages' may lag behind wages level in the market soon after they have been worked out. While it would be meaningless if the wages specified in the tender documents are below market rates, the Council would suffer financially if the 'minimum wages' were set too high. Therefore, it is undesirable to rigidly specify the minimum wages in the tender documents and fix the wages of the employees at a similar level.
(2) In deciding whether the wages are fair, factors such as hours of labour and other conditions of service (e.g. shift duties and provision of meals and accommodations etc.) should also be taken into consideration. Comparison of the wages level alone may not be able to realistically reflect whether the remunerations of the employees are on a par with the market level. Besides, setting a basic monthly salary in the tender documents will lessen the flexibility of the Council in assessing the tenders. On the contrary, our arrangements can allow the Council to give overall consideration to the employees' wages, hours of labour, and conditions of services, as well as the tenderers' abilities, track records and tender prices before selecting the suitable contractor.
(3) On the other hand, if apart from wages, the hours of labour and other conditions of service of the employees are also specified in the tender conditions, it will confine the flexible deployment of the tenderers' manpower resources (such as the employment ratio of full-time/hourly-rated workers), affect the cost-effectiveness of their service and reduce the flexibility of the Council in the selection of tenders.
After estimating the feasibility and related problems of the various arrangements, the Administration Select Committee was of the view that the above option would be more feasible in actual implementation. It would on one hand prevent contractors from paying their employees wages less favourable than the market rates and on the other hand allow the Council greater flexibility in selecting the suitable contractor. As recommended in the review report, the Department will adopt the aforesaid arrangements on a trial basis first and a review will be conducted later to see whether further improvements are necessary.
In accordance with the various improvement measures on the mechanism for contracting-out of services endorsed by the Administration Select Committee, the Department has finished amending the tender documents and contracts for cleansing services. Samples of the contracts were forwarded to Members of the Select Committee on 14 July 1998 for their reference.
Page 176 of 606
Page 176 of 606
Page 176 of 606
Page 176 of 606
PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
173
In resolving to introduce the above measures to ensure that employees of the contractors would be paid 'fair market wages' instead of adopting the 'minimum wages' arrangements, the Administration Select Committee has taken the following factors into consideration:
(1) It is technically difficult to pursue a policy of minimum wages. As the rates of wages in the labour market are fast changing, the 'minimum wages may lag behind wages level in the market soon after they have been worked out. While it would be meaningless if the wages specified in the tender documents are below market rates, the Council would suffer financially if the minimum wages' were set too high. Therefore, it is undesirable to rigidly specify the minimum. wages in the tender documents and fix the wages of the employees at a similar level.
(2) In deciding whether the wages are fair, factors such as hours of labour and other conditions of service (e.g. shift duties and provision of meals and accommodations etc.) should also be taken into consideration. Comparison of the wages level alone may not be able to realistically reflect whether the remunerations of the employees are on a par with the market level. Besides, setting a basic monthly salary in the tender documents will lessen the flexibility of the Council in assessing the tenders. On the contrary, our arrangements can allow the Council to give overall consideration to the employees' wages, hours of labour, and conditions of services, as well as the tenderers' abilities, track records and tender prices before selecting the suitable contractor.
(3) On the other hand, if apart from wages, the hours of labour and other conditions of service of the employees are also specified in the tender conditions, it will confine the flexible deployment of the tenderers' manpower resources (such as the employment ratio of full time/hourly- rated workers), affect the cost-effectiveness of their service and reduce the flexibility of the Council in the selection of tenders.
After estimating the feasibility and related problems of the various arrangements, the Administration Select Committee was of the view that the above option would be more feasible in actual implementation. It would on one hand prevent contractors from paying their employees wages less favourable than the market rates and on the other hand allow the Council greater flexibility in selecting the suitable contractor. As recommended in the review report, the Department will adopt the aforesaid arrangements on a trial basis first and a review will be conducted later to see whether further improvements are necessary.
In accordance with the various improvement measures on the mechanism for contracting-out of services endorsed by the Administration Select Committee, the Department has finished amending the tender documents and contracts for cleansing services. Samples of the contracts were forwarded to Members of the Select Committee on 14 July 1998 for their reference.
Page 176 of 606
Page 176 of 606
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