ENG-2005 — Page 177

Employment ❘ 143

extended its skills assessment to retrainees of personal care worker courses in November 2004 and foot reflexology and healthcare massage retrainees in December 2005. The Special Incentive Allowance Scheme for Local Domestic Helpers was introduced by the Labour Department in June 2003 to promote the service of local helpers and address the mismatch in supply and demand. The scheme rules were further relaxed in December 2005 to allow more flexibility for eligible helpers to make claims. A sum of $60 million was earmarked to provide an allowance to qualified helpers who are willing to work across district or during unsocial hours (i.e., hours outside 9am to 5pm on Monday to Friday). Some 8 000 local helpers are expected to benefit from the scheme. As at year-end, there were some 6 150 successful applications.

Labour Relations

The state of labour relations in Hong Kong remained harmonious. In 2005, the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department handled 237 trade disputes, a decrease of 12 per cent from 2004. There was only one work stoppage, resulting in the loss of 100 working days. The average loss was 0.03 of a working day per 1 000 salaried employees and wage-earners, which is among the lowest in the world. During the year, the division handled 25 952 claims for wages and other employment-related benefits or entitlements. This represented a decrease of nine per cent from 2004. Of all disputes and claims conciliated by the division in 2005, 69.8 per cent were settled - a record high since 1994.

The Labour Department organises a wide variety of activities to promote harmonious labour relations in Hong Kong. To enhance public understanding of the Employment Ordinance, promotional activities such as talks and briefings are organised and a wide range of publications is produced for free distribution to the public. Also, the information is widely publicised through the department's website and the media. In 2005, a large-scale seminar was organised by the department to invite the winning establishments of Good People Management Awards 2004 to share their enlightened practices with other employers, human resources practitioners and trade unions.

At the enterprise level, the department promotes good labour management practices and effective communication. A network of 18 Human Resources Managers' Clubs has been established and experience-sharing sessions and briefings are organised for human resources practitioners. The department also promotes tripartite dialogue at the industry level by setting up committees of employers, employees and labour officials. With the assistance of the department, nine tripartite committees have been formed, covering the catering, construction, theatre, logistics, property management, printing, hotel and tourism, cement and concrete, and retail industries. In 2005, in collaboration with the committees, the department organised seminars. and published guidebooks for specific industries to promote good people management practices.