ENG-2000 — Page 178

EMPLOYMENT

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Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department after unsuccessful conciliation attempts. During the year, the tribunal heard a total of 8 267 cases and made awards amounting to more than $716 million.

Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board

The Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board adjudicates claims under the Employment Ordinance and in accordance with individual employment contracts. The board hears and determines employment claims involving not more than 10 claimants for a sum of money not exceeding $8,000 per claimant.

During the year, the board heard 7 640 cases and made awards amounting to $6.6 million.

Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund

The Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund is financed by an annual levy of $250 on each business registration certificate. Employees who are owed wages and other employment termination benefits by insolvent employers may apply to the fund for ex gratia payment.

The fund covers arrears of wages not exceeding $36,000 accrued during a period of four months preceding the applicant's last day of service; wages in lieu of notice for termination of employment up to $22,500 or one month's wages, whichever is less; and severance payment up to $50,000 plus 50 per cent of any entitlement in excess of $50,000. The fund received 13 672 applications and paid out a total of $358.1 million to 11 266 applicants in 2000.

Employment Services

The Employment Services Division (ESD) of the Labour Department provides free recruitment assistance to employers and placement service to job seekers through 11 Job Centres (previously named as Local Employment Service branch offices). Two of them are employment and guidance centres for new arrivals. Through the Job Matching Programme, the division conducts briefings, and provides an intensive job- matching and counselling service to unemployed job-seekers.

The division also operates the Outreaching Placement Service which offers a registration service at the workplace to the affected workers in major retrenchments. Promotional activities such as job bazaars and exhibitions are organised under the Employment Information and Promotion Programme

During the year, four Job Centres were relocated to better and more spacious locations to enhance the quality of service. Fax machines have also been installed in Job Centres to enable job seekers to fax resumes directly to employers.

The Interactive Employment Service (iES) provides a job search service on the Internet and attracted a total of 44 250 133 hits during the year. The system has been upgraded. Job-seekers can now register on-line. Once registered, they can generate their own resumes and send them to prospective employers. Employers can also shortlist suitable candidates on the Internet. The address of the web site has also been simplified (http://www.jobs.gov.hk). In December, the Labour Department launched an innovative Employment Information Super-Highway by hyper-linking the iES