ENG-2019 — Page 154

Chapter 7

Employment

The government promotes employment, maintains harmonious labour relations, safeguards the labour rights of employees and enhances safety and health at work.

Employment is the key to people's livelihood. The government improves the use of human resources in Hong Kong and supports economic development by upgrading workers' skills so they can be more employable and competitive, improving the business environment, introducing measures to create jobs and enhancing labour market efficiency.

The Labour and Welfare Bureau maps out strategies to develop a well-trained and adaptable workforce to meet the changing manpower demands of the economy and contribute to the overall competitiveness of Hong Kong.

The Labour Department formulates and implements labour policies, enforces labour legislation, provides free employment and recruitment services to job-seekers and employers, promotes harmonious labour relations, safeguards employees' rights and benefits, and promotes occupational safety and health of the workforce.

Labour legislation, supplemented by administrative measures, provides the statutory basis for employers' and employees' obligations and rights, and enables the city to meet internationally accepted labour standards. In 2019, the department secured 4,843 convictions, resulting in fines totalling more than $30.29 million.

The Employment (Amendment) (No. 3) Ordinance 2018 took effect on 18 January to increase statutory paternity leave from three days to five days.

The Employees' Compensation Ordinance, Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance (PMCO) and Occupational Deafness (Compensation) Ordinance were amended with effect from 26 April to raise the amounts of 18 compensation items payable in cases involving work accidents or prescribed occupational diseases and to expand the list of medical appliances under the PMCO.

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