Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung has ruled out introducing a law obliging Hong Kong firms to consult trade unions or staff representatives before laying off employees.

Mr Cheung told lawmakers today to preserve Hong Kong's competitive advantages and capacity to create jobs, a reasonable balance should be struck between protecting staff rights and benefits and maintaining firms' flexibility and competitiveness.

"Regulating retrenchment activities through legislation may affect investor confidence, erode Hong Kong's competitiveness and reduce employment opportunities," Mr Cheung said, adding consulting trade unions or staff may not avert a lay-off decision or cut the scale.

He believed consultation through voluntary participation is more conducive to resolving the problems in a rational, candid and mutually understanding manner, and it is important for employers and staff to jointly face the global economic challenge.

Mr Cheung noted job creation is the Government's top priority, together with minimising job losses, upgrading the skills of the unemployed and helping them find jobs.

The Government will continue to promote tourism development by opening up new market sources and new tourism products such as green tourism, meetings-incentives-conventions-exhibitions tourism and cruise tourism. This will drive retail, catering and hotels sectors, providing more jobs.

Large-scale infrastructure projects and minor works projects will be commissioned. The Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Wan Chai Development Phase II, if endorsed, will create more than 40,000 jobs, while minor works will create 12,000 jobs in the construction industry.

Besides the enhanced loan guarantee scheme for small and medium enterprises, another scheme will be launched this month which can encourage the commercial lending markets to provide $10 billion in liquidity to these firms.

The Employees Retraining Board also plans to provide about 120,000 training places in 2008-09 to help trainees acquire vocational skills and recognised qualifications to enhance their employability and competitiveness.