Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (June 13):
 
Question:
 
     It is learnt that there are currently more than 150 000 deaf/hard-of-hearing persons in Hong Kong and over 80 per cent of them are elderly persons (i.e. persons aged 60 or above).  At present, a majority of residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) have not put in place a policy which is friendly towards the deaf/hard-of-hearing elderly persons (such as providing sign language training to their staff, providing auditory training to their residents and installing fire alarm lights), making it difficult for the deaf/hard-of-hearing elderly persons to integrate themselves into the environment in RCHEs and to seek assistance when necessary.  Some members of the public have pointed out that as the population of Hong Kong is ageing and most people’s hearing will deteriorate with age, the Government should provide RCHEs dedicated for the deaf/hard-of-hearing elderly persons.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the number of deaf/hard-of-hearing residents in RCHEs in each of the past five years;

(2) whether it knows the number of RCHE staff members across the territory in each of the past five years who knew sign language, with a breakdown by type of RCHEs (i.e. subvented homes, contract homes, non-profit-making self-financing homes and private homes) in which they worked;

(3) whether it has implemented a policy under which arrangements are made for the deaf/hard-of-hearing elderly persons to reside centrally in RCHEs with facilities and services that are friendly to the deaf/hard-of-hearing elderly persons; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will implement such a policy and set up such type of RCHEs;

(4) whether it has put in place a policy to assist the deaf/hard-of-hearing residents in RCHEs in improving their social life; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will implement such a policy; and

(5) as some deaf/hard-of-hearing residents in RCHEs have relayed that because they are unable to communicate with those RCHE staff who do not know sign language, they cannot obtain the necessary assistance immediately when they feel unwell and have urgent needs, whether the authorities have put in place a policy to assist such residents, including providing sign language training to RCHE staff; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will implement such a policy?

Reply:
 
President,
 
     My reply to the Member’s question is as follows:

(1) The Social Welfare Department (SWD) does not have information on the number of elderly persons with hearing impairment residing in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs).

(2) SWD does not have information on the number of RCHE staff who know sign language.

(3)&(4) SWD has since 2003 implemented the Central Waiting List mechanism to collectively process applications from elderly persons for subsidised long-term care services and service matching.  Applicants have to be assessed under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services, and the accredited assessors adopt an internationally recognised assessment tool known as “Minimum Data Set – Home Care” to comprehensively assess the impairment level in the elderly persons’ abilities to take care of themselves, physical functioning, memory and communication skills, behaviour and emotion, etc., as well as their health conditions, the environmental risk they may face and whether they could cope with these issues in their daily lives, with a view to identifying their care needs and matching them with appropriate services.  
 
     Hearing is one of the factors in assessing the communication skills of elderly persons.  After elderly persons have been allocated an RCHE placement, SWD will forward the assessment results to the RCHEs concerned so as to facilitate their professional teams to formulate appropriate individual care plans and provide appropriate support and counselling services for those in need.  Representatives of the RCHEs will also meet with the elderly persons before admission to further understand their care needs and enhance their individual care plans. 
 
     At present, SWD provides subsidised residential care services for the elderly under an integrated approach, thereby enabling elderly persons of different physical conditions to receive continuous care.  The facilities of subvented and contract RCHEs (e.g. hearing aids) can cater for the care needs of elderly persons with hearing impairment.  Separately, elderly persons receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (including those residing in RCHEs) may, subject to medical recommendation, apply for special grants to cover the costs for purchasing the necessary assistive devices (including hearing aids).

(5) According to the prevailing requirements, an RCHE shall be provided with a fire detection system and a fire alarm system; and apart from audio warning devices, visual alarm signals shall be installed to form part of the fire alarm system.  Besides, an RCHE shall install a call bell at the bedspace of each resident requiring a high level of care, as well as in toilet cubicles and bathrooms, for residents to seek assistance immediately when necessary.
 
     SWD has all along provided RCHE staff with training courses on taking care of elderly persons with special needs.  SWD is planning to organise in 2018-19 a training course for RCHE staff on taking care of residents with hearing impairment, with a view to enhancing their awareness and skills in this aspect. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Charles Mok and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, in the Legislative Council today (June 13):

Question:

     It has been reported that the “Gig economy” has become increasingly popular in recent years. Quite a number of people have switched to freelancing and taken up jobs through Internet platforms or applications. A study has pointed out that Hong Kong’s flexible workforce (i.e. temporary employees, part-time employees, self-employed persons/freelance workers, etc.) has grown substantially in the past 10-odd years. However, flexible workers are subject to a greater risk of unemployment, lower employment income and more inferior labour benefits and protection, as compared with permanent employees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) Of the number of complaints received by the Labour Department in the past three years, which were made by flexible workers because their labour rights and interests had been undermined, and the respective numbers of related prosecutions and convictions;

(2) Whether it has compiled statistics on the current size of population taking up flexible jobs, as well as the occupation distribution, average number of working hours per week, average monthly income, and entitlements to labour benefits and protection (including paid sickness days and annual leave, holiday pay, employees’ compensation insurance policies and the contributions made by employers to their Mandatory Provident Fund scheme accounts) of those people; and

(3) Given that the governments of a number of places (including the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, etc.) have started to study and implement systems for protecting freelance workers, whether the authorities will, by making reference to the practices of such governments, amend the Employment Ordinance (Cap 57) and other relevant legislation to enhance the protection for flexible workers, as well as conducting relevant studies and public consultations?

Reply:

President,

     The Employment Ordinance (EO) serves to provide for the protection of the employment conditions of employees. Employees covered by EO, irrespective of their hours of work, are entitled to certain fundamental protection under the Ordinance. For temporary employees, part-time employees and self-employed persons/freelance workers mentioned in the question, temporary employees and part-time employees are those in the status of employees and are entitled to the rights and benefits under EO when the relevant eligibility criteria are met. As regards self-employed persons/freelance workers who are not employees, EO is not applicable. In determining whether a person is an employee or not, it does not hinge solely on the label of the post or contract concerned, but is subject to the actual circumstances of providing the services.

     My reply to the Member’s question is as follows:

(1) Since self-employed persons/freelance workers are not employees, the Labour Department (LD) does not keep statistics on their complaints. Furthermore, as the statistics on complaints and prosecutions in respect of employees whose employment rights and benefits are infringed maintained by LD do not have further breakdowns by employees’ working hours or employment period, relevant statistics concerning temporary employees or part-time employees are not available.

(2) For temporary employees and part-time employees, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) provides the number of part-time employees by industry as well as their median hours of work and median monthly employment earnings in accordance with the results of the General Household Survey (GHS) for the first quarter (Q1) of 2018 at the Annex. Such survey does not have information on temporary employees.

     For self-employed persons/freelance workers, C&SD provides the number of self-employed persons by industry as well as their median hours of work and median monthly employment earnings in accordance with the results of the abovementioned survey at the same Annex.

     GHS does not collect information on such labour benefits and protection as paid sick leave and annual leave, holiday work salary, labour insurance and contributions under the mandatory provident fund (MPF) schemes by employers pertaining to self-employed persons and part-time employees. On the other hand, according to the information provided by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), as some members of the workforce, such as regular employees who have been employed for less than 60 days, are exempt from joining MPF schemes, the statistics on MPF contributions maintained by MPFA do not cover all temporary employees, part-time employees and self-employed persons/freelance workers in Hong Kong.

(3) The Government reviews EO from time to time having regard to social changes and the pace of economic development, with a view to improving the statutory rights and benefits of employees progressively.

     Under EO, employees who are employed under a continuous contract and have fulfilled the relevant conditions stipulated in the Ordinance are entitled to a series of employment benefits such as rest days, paid statutory holidays, annual leave, sickness allowance, severance payment and long service payment, etc. While temporary employees and part-time employees are in the status of employees, they are accorded certain fundamental protection under EO even if they are not employed under a continuous contract. This includes payment of wages, restrictions on wage deductions, entitlement to statutory holidays and protection against anti-union discrimination, etc. In addition, the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance provides for compensation payable to employees who sustain work injuries or suffer from prescribed occupational diseases, regardless of their hours of work or duration of employment. The Minimum Wage Ordinance also accords the protection of statutory minimum wage to employees within its coverage.

     As regards self-employed persons/freelance workers, we note that concerns about their working conditions are still subject to exploration and deliberation in other places and a more comprehensive and systematic mode of protection is yet to be developed. Given this, it is difficult for the time being to make any methodical comparison or reference on the matter. At present, the Government has no plan to expand the scope of EO. read more

     Hong Kong residents intending to travel abroad during the summer holidays are reminded to apply early for travel documents.      An Immigration Department spokesperson said the processing time for Hong Ko… read more

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible: Here is an item of interest to swimmers.      The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (June 13) that due to big wa… read more

     Police today (June 13) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Wong Tai Sin.      Poon Hang-fong , aged 57, went missing after he left his residence in Fung Tak Estat… read more