Development plan: Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Stephen Ip and Permanent Secretary Matthew Cheung unveil details of the manpower development plan for the textiles and clothing industry at a press briefing.

A manpower development plan involving training and importation of skilled workers for the textiles and clothing industry will be launched to boost job opportunities and the industry's development, Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Stephen Ip says.

The plan seeks to attract local workers to enter or re-enter the industry through active recruitment and structured training. It will also allow employers the flexibility to import skilled workers for four posts - general and special sewing, knitting and linking machine operators - which are in short supply.

Mr Ip said after the imposition of quota restrictions by the US and the European Union on Mainland-made textiles and clothing products, some local manufacturers intend to relocate part or all of their operations in the Mainland back to the city or to expand their production here as products made in Hong Kong are not subject to similar quota restrictions.

Expanded businesses

"The difficulty of recruiting sufficient skilled local workers is seen by the industry as the major hurdle to return to Hong Kong or expand their local production lines. Thus, we put forward this manpower development plan for the industry," he said.

Mr Ip said the plan ensures local workers be given priority in employment and training, and be given a basic income. These measures will help retain skilled workers in the industry, attract local workers to enter or re-enter the industry and enhance the supply and skills of local workers.

For manufacturers, they can relocate their operations back to Hong Kong or expand their production here through flexible importation of skilled workers under the Supplementary Labour Scheme on a trial basis. This will ease the immediate manpower shortage of the industry and generate more local job opportunities.

Basic income

To ensure a stable income for local workers and to attract more former skilled workers and new blood alike to the industry, employers who import workers under the flexibility measures have to offer a basic income for local workers of the four posts.

The employer should pay the local workers a basic daily wage ranging $200 to $235 for each working day plus remuneration calculated on the basis of piece-rate beyond the threshold of work done for the basic wage. Local workers will also be guaranteed a minimum total remuneration over every 26-week period, ranging $24,000 to $27,000.

For imported workers, they will receive monthly wages ranging $4,000 to $4,500 calculated on the same basis as local workers.

Mr Ip expected the first batch of imported workers will come to Hong Kong in May, adding the scheme will be reviewed annually and a comprehensive review be undertaken when the number of imported workers approved reaches 5,000.

Fixed recruitment ratio

To strike a balance between the job creation for the industry and the need for imported labour, employers have to adhere to a fixed recruitment ratio of local workers to imported workers. In essence, the ratios for the garment sector will range from 1:1 to 1:4 whereas the ratio for the knitwear industry will be 1:4.

To protect local job opportunities, employers will undergo a two-week local recruitment exercise to fill the required percentage of vacancies before approval to import workers will be granted. The recruitment exercise will be co-ordinated by a recruitment and training centre to be set up by the Clothing Industry Training Authority in Lai King. Employers are free to recruit local workers through their own channels.

The centre is expected to be operational by the end of this month. It will conduct trade tests for local workers on the relevant skills to ensure they meet the basic skill level. It will also refer workers who wish to re-enter the trade but fail to meet the required standard and those who are new to the trade to attend relevant retraining courses. Retrainees will receive a retraining allowance and a three-month post-placement follow-up service.

The Labour Department will accept employers' applications for importation of labour four weeks after the launch of the centre. It will take about eight weeks for the department to process an application while the Immigration Department will take another four to six weeks to process an application for a visa or entry permit.

More opportunities

Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung said the recruitment ratio of local workers to imported labour will ensure additional local workers can take up employment and help develop the industry. It will also generate more job opportunities in other supporting and ancillary positions, such as merchandisers, shipping clerks and general labourers. He expected the scheme will bring 3,000 to 5,000 jobs for local workers.

He described the scheme as a "win-win" one as it will bring more jobs for local workers and boost the industry's development.

Stringent monitoring measures

Stringent monitoring measures will be put in place to prevent employers from abusing the scheme. These include the setting up of a complaint hotline, inspection of lists of local workers and their wage records, regular inspections, close liaison with labour unions.

A committee, chaired by Mr Cheung with representatives of the Labour Advisory Board, textiles and clothing manufacturers, industry-specific labour unions, training bodies and relevant government bodies, will identify how best to strengthen the recruitment of local workers and monitor the effectiveness of the flexibility measures for importation of labour.

Mr Cheung said when processing applications from employers, their past records will also be scrutinised to see if the applicants laid off staff in the past six months.

To assist new entrants and encourage employers to take on new hands, the Labour Department will fuse its Work Trial Scheme and Employment Training Programme for the middle-aged into the Clothing Industry Training Authority's retraining programmes. 

Graduate retrainees will be put on the Work Trial Scheme, under which they will get a one-off subsidy of $4,500 from the department, and payment of $500 from the participating manufacturers for the one-month work trial period. Should the retrainees be aged 40 or above and their employers meet the eligibility criteria, employers will also get an on-the-job training allowance of $1,500 a month for up to three months under the Employment Training Programme for the Middle-aged.

The department will provide the Clothing Industry Training Authority with a one-off grant of $2.5 million to set up the recruitment and training centre. With the projected entry of some 5,000 imported workers, the Employees Retraining Board is expected to raise about $48 million for every two years from the Employees Retraining Levy to be paid by employers.