A local labour union has urged the Hong Kong government to review its imported labour policy after a survey revealed that more than half of catering workers lost their jobs following the Lunar New Year, while the percentage of employers hiring non-local workers trebled.
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The survey, jointly conducted by the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions and Federation of Hong Kong Food & Beverage Industries Trade Union between January and April this year, gathered responses from 950 workers in local food and catering services, including traditional Chinese restaurants, cha chaan tengs, noodle bars, snack bars, and Western restaurants.
It found that 52.5 per cent of the restaurant workers reported losing their jobs after the Lunar New Year, which fell on January 29 this year. Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who stated their restaurants had hired imported labour surged threefold, from 24 per cent before the festival to 72 per cent afterwards.
More than 95 per cent of respondents believed that the influx of non-local workers had negatively impacted their livelihoods, leading to situations where they were either replaced, unemployed, or only able to secure part-time positions.
“We advise the government to review the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme and consider reimplementing restrictions on the 26 job types. For those jobs and industries that had imported labour, the government should establish quotas,” said Jenny Tam Kam-lin, the vice-chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions.
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She also recommended that the government monitor and penalise employers who dismissed local employees after receiving approval to hire non-local workers, or who exclusively hired local part-time workers instead of offering full-time positions.
The Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme was introduced in September 2023. It aims to address the city’s manpower shortage by allowing employers to bring in an unlimited number of unskilled or low-skilled workers from mainland China for 26 new job types, including waiters, junior chefs, and hospitality and sales staff in catering.