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Employment

The ERB also operates three service centres in Kowloon East, Kowloon West and Tin Shui Wai to provide people in those districts with training and employment support.

Continuing Education Fund (CEF)

The government's CEF subsidises continuing studies for adults. On completion of a CEF approved course, eligible applicants receive reimbursement of 80 per cent of the fees paid, capped at $10,000 per person. More than 30,000 applications to open CEF accounts were approved in 2014.

Labour Relations

In 2014, the Labour Department handled 68 trade disputes and 15,764 employment claims. The total was 10 per cent lower than that of 2013. In cases where the department provided conciliation services, more than 70 per cent were settled. The department handled three strikes which resulted in a loss of 138 working days, or an average loss of 0.04 working days per 1,000 salaried employees and wage earners, one of the lowest in the world.

Activities such as roving exhibitions, online quizzes, seminars and talks are organised to promote the Employment Ordinance, good people management and family-friendly employment practices. Information is disseminated through free publications, the internet, the media and networks of employers' associations and trade unions.

The department fosters tripartite dialogue and co-operation at the industry level among employers, employees and the government through nine industry-based tripartite committees (covering catering, construction, theatre, logistics, property management, printing, hotel and tourism, cement and concrete, and retail). These committees provide effective forums for members to discuss issues of common concern to their industries.

The department also works with 18 human resources managers' clubs through meetings, seminars and newsletters, to encourage members to adopt enlightened management practices and effective employer-employee communication.

Trade Unions

The Registry of Trade Unions administers the Trade Unions Ordinance and promotes good and responsible trade union management. Once registered, a trade union becomes a body corporate and enjoys immunity from certain civil suits.

In 2014, 15 new unions were registered, bringing the number of registered trade unions to 869, comprising 819 employee unions, 17 employers' associations and 33 mixed organisations of employees and employers. There are also nine registered trade union federations. Declared membership of employee unions over the past five years remained at around 790,000. The trade union participation rate (the percentage of salaried employees and wage earners who are union members) was around 23 per cent for the same period.

About half of the employee unions are affiliated to four major labour organisations: the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (187 unions), the Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union

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