John Hanzhang Ye

Opinion | Focus on Hong Kong’s working conditions, not number of workers, to fix labour shortage

The government is going all out to deal with the shortage of workers in various sectors, but opposition from unions suggests the need for caution

Rather that focusing on the number of available workers, it would be more effective to improve working conditions to make people more eager to come to the city for work

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Union representatives protest against the plan to import labour outside the government headquarters in Admiralty on June 20. The business community has largely welcomed the government’s plan to import workers to ease staffing shortages, but labour unions have condemned the proposal. Photo: Elson Li.

John Hanzhang Ye

Published: 6:15am, 23 Jun 2023

Earlier this month, the government announced a special scheme to import thousands of workers to deal with the shortage of labour in Hong Kong. The announcement triggered opposition from trade unions, which serves as a reminder to the government of the need for caution when handling the issue of imported workers.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu acknowledged during his 2022 policy address that Hong Kong’s workforce had shrunk by about 140,000 over two pandemic years. In response, the government put forward a series of measures to reverse that trend, including a new visa scheme to attract talent.

In May, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said that when he met Xia Baolong, the head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia said Hong Kong should do more to attract talent.

The Hong Kong government’s latest plan involves importing 20,000 workers in the construction, transport and aviation sectors as well as lifting an import ban on 26 low-skilled job types for two years.

While the business community has generally reacted favourably to the plan, concerns have been raised about the scheme bypassing the Labour Advisory Board, which was designed to be a platform for negotiation between employees and employers on critical issues.

This is not the first time the government has set up a special scheme to import workers. Last year, the government announced a programme to bring in carers to address labour shortages at care homes for the elderly. Given that its latest scheme is broader in scope, encompassing a variety of sectors, there was a greater need for the government to proceed with caution.