Government plans to refine supplementary labour scheme

Hong Kong Government announced yesterday it plans to refine the current "Supplementary Labour Scheme".

26 low-skilled categories from the scheme that have been generally excluded from importing labour, such as cashiers and sales assistants, will be allowed to import workers for two years. The government also plans to shorten the approval time for each application, aiming to reducing it from the previous five months to within three months.

Member of the Labour Advisory Board said such a refinement shows the government only wants to speed up the number of workers coming to Hong Kong instead of hoping to enhance the scheme. Under the changes, employers must first still try recruiting local employees for at least a month before being allowed to apply for the scheme.