Tag Archives: China

     The Labour Department (LD) today (November 14) reminded employers to make practical and reasonable work arrangements for employees after the cancellation of tropical cyclone warnings or rainstorm warnings, with due consideration to the road and traffic conditions and other factors, and make flexible arrangements for staff to resume work or work remotely (if applicable). This will help maintain good labour-management relations, and ensure the safety of employees as well as the smooth operation of organisations.
      
     “For staff who have genuine difficulties in resuming work on time upon cancellation of a tropical cyclone or rainstorm warning, employers should be sympathetic and handle each case flexibly. For example, employers may allow employees to resume work in stages, permit employees who have difficulties in returning to workplaces to work remotely (if applicable) or allow more time for them to report for duty and resume work,” an LD spokesman said.
      
     The spokesman reminded employers to observe the statutory liabilities and requirements under the Employment Ordinance, Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and Minimum Wage Ordinance.
      
     “As natural calamities cannot be avoided, for employees who are not able to report for duty or resume duty on time due to adverse weather or ‘extreme conditions’, employers should neither deduct their wages, good attendance bonus or allowances, nor reduce employees’ entitlement to annual leave, statutory holidays or rest days under the Employment Ordinance, or ask for additional hours of work from employees to compensate for the loss of working hours when they are unable to report for duty,” the spokesman said.
      
     Employers should note that they have an obligation to provide and maintain a safe working environment for their employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance. Moreover, under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, employers are liable to pay compensation for injuries or deaths incurred when employees are travelling by a direct route from their residence to their workplace, or from their workplace back to their residence after work, four hours before or after working hours on a day when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or higher, a Red or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal or “extreme conditions” is in force.
      
     The LD has published the “Code of Practice in Times of Adverse Weather and ‘Extreme Conditions'”, which provides the major principles, reference guidelines and information on relevant legislation on making work arrangements for the reference of employers and employees. The booklet can be obtained from branch offices of the Labour Relations Division or downloaded from the department’s webpage (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/Rainstorm.pdf). read more

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations: Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals:      "With the change to Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3, … read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     As the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 has been cancelled, the Judiciary has announced that all hearings of the courts and tribunals will be resumed/held as scheduled this afternoon (November 14).

     Those who were due to attend court hearings this morning but were affected by the issuing of the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8, including jurors, should do so at 2.30pm today.

     Court/tribunal registries and offices will open at 12.20pm today. Before that, court users may use the integrated Court Case Management System (iCMS) for electronic services provided by the registries of the District Court, Magistrates’ Courts and Small Claims Tribunal as usual. Any documents filed via the iCMS during the registries’ closure period will be deemed to have been received upon their reopening.

     It is anticipated that there will be a significant number of people going to the courts. In particular, for the High Court, District Court and West Kowloon Law Courts Building, given the need for security screening, court users are advised to arrive at the court buildings earlier to allow time for screening, particularly during peak hours after the lunch break. read more

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, continued to attend the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) and delivered a speech at the China Pavilion’s Side Event in Azerbaijan yesterday (November 13, Azerbaijan time).
      
     Mr Tse delivered an opening speech at the side event titled “Climate Action: From Climate Science to New Energy Development Opportunities” held by the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the Hong Kong Observatory at the China Pavilion. In his speech, Mr Tse elaborated on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s strategies and progress of combating climate change.
      
     Mr Tse said, “Hong Kong reached carbon peak in 2014 and set a target to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050. Hong Kong’s per capita carbon emission in 2023 was about 4.4 tonnes, which has a reduction by almost 30 per cent from the 2014 level.”
      
     He added that Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 has a four-pronged strategy, which includes net-zero electricity generation, energy saving and green buildings, green transport and waste reduction. Under the strategy, there are three important targets. The first is to stop using coal for power generation before 2035. At this moment, coal accounts for less than 20 per cent of Hong Kong’s current fuel mix for power generation. The second is promoting green transport. The HKSAR Government will cease the registration of new fossil fuel-powered and hybrid private cars by 2035. In the first half of this year, six to seven out of every 10 newly registered private cars in Hong Kong were electric vehicles. The third is to deal with methane from landfills. The HKSAR Government is working to stop using landfills before 2035. The first waste-to-energy incinerator will come into operation next year and the Government will tender out in December to build the second one which can treat 6,000 tonnes of waste per day.
      
     Mr Tse also said that Hong Kong is a regional hub and a gateway from the country to the other parts of the world. The country has many innovative products and many new technologies that can help greening the future, reducing carbon emissions, which can help building infrastructures and cities in a green, low carbon, and safe manner. Hong Kong can be a gateway for introducing these green technologies and products to other parts of the world.

     The Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Professor Celeste Saulo, also delivered a speech titled “Early Warning Systems for Effective Climate Action” in the side event. The Commissioner for Climate Change, Mr Wong Chuen-fai; and the Assistant Director (Development, Research and Administration) of Hong Kong Observatory, Ms Sandy Song, shared the HKSAR Government’s hydrogen energy development strategy, as well as climate service and climate change adaptation in the event.
      
     â€‹Mr Tse also met with Professor Celeste Saulo before the side event, and exchanged views on issues such as strengthening international cooperation in response to extreme weather and green energy transformation yesterday.
      
     Mr Tse today (November 14, Azerbaijan time) will attend the US-China Subnational Climate Leaders Dialogue hosted by the California-China Climate Institute to introduce Hong Kong’s climate resilience strategy.

              

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:        The Hospital Authority (HA) announces that its general out-patient clinics (GOPCs), specialist out-patient clinics (SOPCs), allied health and … read more