Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun today attended the Seventh Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting (HRDMM) in Jeju, South Korea, delivering speeches at two plenaries.
Adopting the theme “Sustainable Labour Markets and Jobs for the Future”, the HRDMM is aimed at promoting reforms to facilitate a flexible, inclusive, and resilient labour market.
In a keynote speech at this morning’s plenary, themed “Flexible & Vibrant Labour Market”, Mr Sun said that to address the challenges posed by the emergence of the so-called platform economy, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has long been committed to protecting platform workers. He elaborated that this includes exploring measures for strengthen protections through a liaison group comprising representatives of the Government, platform companies and labour organisations.
According to a Thematic Household Survey conducted by the Hong Kong SAR Government, he added, platform workers are most concerned about work injury compensation. The Hong Kong SAR Government will introduce a proposal this year on ways to further enhance the rights and benefits of platform workers.
Mr Sun also briefed his audience on various initiatives implemented by the Hong Kong SAR Government to unleash the full potential of the labour force. These include the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme, which launched last year, and the enhanced Employment Programme for the Elderly & Middle-aged.
During the afternoon plenary, themed “Responding to Future Jobs & Active Labour Market Policies”, Mr Sun gave a presentation on the Hong Kong SAR Government’s manpower policies and talent attraction measures.
He stressed that the main aim of these policies and measures is to nurture local talent while also attracting complementary outside talent, in order to enrich the local talent pool in ways that meet local social and economic development needs.
Mr Sun outlined Hong Kong’s multi-pronged strategy of training and retraining, including the establishment of two universities of applied sciences, as well as efforts to enhance employees’ professional skills through the Vocational Training Council.
He also spoke of the array of measures rolled out by the Hong Kong SAR Government to attract talent proactively and aggressively, and gave an account of how Hong Kong can leverage its unique advantages of enjoying the strong support at a national level while being closely connected to the world, in order to fulfill its role as an international hub for high-calibre talent.
Upon his arrival in Jeju yesterday, Mr Sun met Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Steven Sim, who is also attending the HRDMM. He said he was delighted to meet Mr Sim again following a visit to Kuala Lumpur in mid-April.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on matters including how to strengthen the local workforce, occupational safety and health, improving the rights of platform workers, and ways to enhance vocational training and employee retraining with a view to alleviating manpower shortages.
Later, Mr Sun held a bilateral meeting with the Republic of Korea’s Acting Minister of Employment & Labor Kim Min Seok, during which they discussed various topics including foreign domestic helpers and the importation of labour.
Mr Sun briefed Mr Kim on the manpower shortages encountered by Hong Kong due to its ageing population, which he explained has resulted in a need for the city to continue attracting outside talent and labour as appropriate.
Mr Sun will conclude his engagements tomorrow morning, before returning to Hong Kong.
