ENG-1983 — Page 88

EMPLOYMENT

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the language of the parties. It complements the Labour Relations Service and does not supersede the conciliation services of the Labour Department. During 1983, the tribunal heard 4 107 cases involving employees as claimants, and a further 440 cases in which the claims were initiated by employers. More than $14 million was awarded by presiding officers. Of the cases dealt with by the tribunal, 90 per cent were referred by the Labour Relations Service after unsuccessful conciliation attempts.

Finding Employment

The Local Employment Service provides a free placement service from 15 offices linked by a facsimile system for efficient distribution of labour market information. During the year, 34 173 people were successfully placed in employment in the private sector. Another register, an extension of the Local Employment Service, is the central agency for all government departments in the recruitment of staff such as artisans, drivers and labourers. It placed 3 508 job-seekers in the Civil Service during the year.

The Special Register gives free employment assistance to graduates of local and overseas universities and job-seekers possessing post-secondary or professional qualifications. During the year, 321 people found employment through this register.

The Selective Placement Service assists disabled people seeking open employment and operates from two offices. The service which covers the physically handicapped - including the blind, the deaf and those with disabilities of orthopaedic or medical origin – will be extended to the mentally retarded and ex-mental patients during 1984. The Employment Service of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and other voluntary agencies remain responsible for the placement needs of socially maladjusted job-seekers. During 1983, 483 disabled people found work through the Selective Placement Service.

Overseas Employment

The Contracts for Overseas Employment Ordinance controls contracts entered into in Hong Kong between overseas employers, or their authorised representatives, and all manual workers proceeding overseas for employment. Such contracts must be attested by the Commissioner for Labour before the workers leave Hong Kong. During the year, 185 contracts were attested, compared with 205 in 1982.

Foreign Domestic Helpers

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Administrative measures are in force to regulate and protect the employment of domestic helpers recruited from overseas (mainly from the Philippines) under contracts that must be attested by the Labour Department. During the year, 17 252 such contracts were attested.

Employment Agencies

The Employment Agency Regulations made under the Employment Ordinance require all profit-making employment agencies to obtain a licence from the Commissioner for Labour before starting operation. During the year, the department issued 161 licences to employment agencies dealing with local employment and 19 to those catering for employment overseas.

Careers Service

The Youth Employment Advisory Service of the Labour Department is engaged in a programme of activities geared to helping students and young people choose a career best suited to their talents, interests and abilities. In 1983, officers of the service gave 401 talks on careers to about 80 240 students in 217 secondary schools. The service also organised, in