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Employment | 161

Foreign Domestic Helpers

Foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) may be admitted subject to the conditions that they have relevant working experience, and that their employers are bona fide Hong Kong residents who are prepared to offer reasonable terms of employment including suitable accommodation and wages not lower than the level of the minimum allowable wage as set by the Government. Their employers must also be willing to provide for the maintenance of the helpers and meet the costs of the passage of the helpers when they return to their country of origin. Employers must also satisfy requirements on income and assets.

In general, demand for FDHS has increased over the past three decades. At the end of 2004, there were 218 430 such helpers in Hong Kong, an increase of 0.7 per cent compared with the number of 216 863 in 2003. About 54.8 per cent of the FDHs in Hong Kong were from the Philippines and 41.2 per cent from Indonesia.

Telephone Enquiry Service

The Labour Department's Telephone Enquiry Service handles general enquiries on labour legislation and on services offered by the department. Guided by an interactive voice processing system, callers can listen to pre-recorded messages and obtain fax information 24 hours a day by making a selection from a wide range of topics. The service is supplemented by staff operators handling more complicated enquiries during office hours. The service handled 538 548 calls from January to June 2004. In July 2004, the service was merged with the telephone enquiry service operated by the Integrated Call Centre of the Efficiency Unit to provide an enhanced service. Since then, the department's enquiry hotline, 2717 1771, has been handled by the '1823 Citizen's Easy Link'.

Occupational Safety and Health

The Labour Department seeks to improve safety and health at the workplace through legislation, law enforcement, promotion, education and training. Through the concerted efforts of all parties concerned, including employers, employees, contractors, safety practitioners and the Government, Hong Kong's safety performance has improved since 1998, with the number of occupational accidents and the accident rate per thousand workers falling steadily.

In 2004, however, the overall number and rate of occupational accidents rose slightly compared with 2003. The increase was largely attributed to the rebound of the local economy which generated more economic and business activities than during the severe economic downturn caused by the outbreak of SARS in early 2003. As a result, 2003 provided a significantly lower base for comparison. Comparing the figures of 2004 to those of 2002, which was a normal year, there was sustained improvement in the overall performance. It is particularly noteworthy that despite a slight increase in occupational injuries in 2004, the safety performance of the construction industry continued to make noticeable improvements.

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162 | Employment