Hong Kong is facing a labor crisis, and the special administrative region government believes it has a solution: Import 20,000 workers to address the shortages in the construction and transportation sectors. With a shrinking labor force, the plan is welcomed and necessary to maintain essential services and support economic development. However, the government must tread carefully to ensure this plan does not become a tool for exploiting both local and imported workers.
The labor shortage in Hong Kong is nothing new. Sectors such as construction, taxi and minibus drivers, airport ground services, and civil engineering had been struggling to find enough workers even before the pandemic. The numbers are staggering: The construction industry alone has an estimated labor shortfall of around 20,000 workers.
Under the existing Supplementary Labour Scheme, employers who cannot find sufficient local workers can apply to the Labour Department to import technicians or lower-skilled workers. However, this process requires employers to advertise locally for four weeks and consult with the Labour Department Advisory Board, and can take more than six months to complete.
To alleviate this crisis, the government’s new plan seeks to streamline the process for importing workers by allocating specific quotas to industries facing undeniable labor shortages. This plan will bring in 12,000 workers for the construction industry and 8,000 for transportation, including 6,300 positions in aviation and 1,700 for minibus and bus drivers. However, this only represents about half of the estimated labor shortage in the affected industries, requiring regular reviews and adjustments to ensure the scale of imported labor is appropriate.
Besides streamlining the labor import process, the government has also temporarily suspended restrictions on importing low-skilled workers for 26 job categories, such as salespeople, hairdressers, waitstaff and delivery workers, for a period of two years. Although the government emphasizes that employers must demonstrate an inability to find local workers before importing labor, the relaxing of restrictions is a fact that cannot be ignored.
The plan cannot become a tool for employers to cut costs and exploit workers. As such, nonlocal workers’ wages must not be lower than the median wage for relevant positions to protect their reasonable treatment and prevent the suppression of local workers’ wages
It is important to note that while importing labor is necessary given the labor shortage that Hong Kong is facing, the government must proceed with caution. The plan cannot become a tool for employers to cut costs and exploit workers. As such, nonlocal workers’ wages must not be lower than the median wage for relevant positions to protect their reasonable treatment and prevent the suppression of local workers’ wages.
Past experiences have demonstrated that unscrupulous employers and intermediary companies will find ways to exploit nonlocal workers, from recruitment to commuting and accommodation arrangements. For example, care home recruitment often involves Hong Kong intermediary companies partnering with mainland intermediaries to recruit workers from different provinces and cities. Some of these intermediaries were exposed colluding with private care homes to deduct imported workers’ wages through various means, sharing the profits among themselves. While the existing Supplementary Labour Scheme has a rigorous application process, there are still opportunities for unscrupulous intermediaries to manipulate the recruitment process. The authorities need to strengthen supervision and surprise inspections to crack down on these unscrupulous actors and understand the actual treatment of imported workers. As the scale of imported labor expands, the need for robust oversight becomes even more critical.
Accommodation for nonlocal workers is another issue that requires attention. The government plans to convert community isolation facilities in Yuen Long’s Pond Tail into nonlocal worker dormitories, accommodating several thousand people. However, these facilities’ remote location raises questions about whether employers will choose them.
The Airport Authority suggests that nonlocal workers can commute daily to and from the airport due to its proximity to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, but employees must bear the transportation costs themselves. The construction and minibus industries prefer to arrange accommodation near the workplace, including temporary dormitories on construction sites. The government has a responsibility to ensure that nonlocal workers’ accommodations meet basic hygiene and safety requirements.
Hong Kong can learn from Singapore’s experience with importing labor. In 2012, Chinese bus drivers in Singapore went on strike to protest unfair treatment, and during the pandemic, outbreaks in nonlocal worker dormitories raised concerns about their rights and well-being. If nonlocal workers in Hong Kong face similar challenges, it will undoubtedly harm the city’s reputation.
In conclusion, addressing Hong Kong’s labor shortage through the importation of workers is a necessary step. However, the government must strike a delicate balance between meeting economic needs and protecting workers’ rights. By learning from the experiences of other cities and maintaining vigilance against exploitation, Hong Kong can successfully cope with this challenge and support its economic development while safeguarding the well-being of local and imported workers alike. As the city moves forward with this plan, it must remain committed to ensuring that the workers who help build and maintain Hong Kong’s infrastructure are treated with dignity, respect and fairness.
The author is co-convener of China Retold, a Legislative Council member, and a member of the Central Committee of the New People’s Party.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
