The Legislative Council's Human Affairs Committee held a meeting today (20th) to discuss the legal responsibility for paying wages to employees of subcontractors in the construction and construction industries under the Employment Ordinance.
Many Members questioned the poor enforcement of the Labour Department in dealing with the problem of wage arrears and hoped that the Ordinance could spread to other industries.
Member of the Federation of Trade Unions Mai Meijuan urged the authorities to expedite the application for the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, so that employees whose wages are owed have confidence in applying for the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, thereby "stopping the loss early."
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56 complaints last year, 41 in the first half of this year
Chen Zhenying, a member of the Financial Legislative Council, pointed out that under the current Employment Ordinance, if an employer fails to provide wages within 7 days after the expiration of the wage period, it is illegal. The maximum penalty is a fine of 350,000 yuan and three years of imprisonment. He was convicted by the court last year. It is 82 sheets.
Chen Zhenying asked how long it would take for an employee to make a complaint until the employer was summoned to court, whether he had reached the maximum penalty after arriving in court, how many arrears of wages had been reported, and whether the authorities would set up a blacklist to let workers know which employer had it. Wages arrears.
The Deputy Secretary of the Bureau of Labor and Welfare, He Qiming, said that because each case has a different degree of complexity, there is no definite statistical time.
The Senior Labour Officer (Labor Inspection) Shum Qihua of the Labour Department also pointed out that the Labour Relations Division has received 56 complaints from the construction industry in 2020 for mediation or complaints about wages, and 41 in the first six months of 2021.
As for the blacklist, Cen pointed out that the authorities have no relevant mechanism, but that if a company owes wages, the authorities will issue a press announcement and disclose the company name, and if a company commits a wage arrears crime, it will also be published on the Labour Department website for two years. .
He Qiming: The sentence was handed over to the court that the authorities were not strict in law enforcement because of deviations
Assistant Commissioner of Labour (Labor Relations) Leung Lok-man added that since the Labour Relations Division handles issues between employers and employees on a divisional basis, it will be aware of the wage arrears of individual sites when handling them, and the authorities will send staff to contact them and understand the problems and needs.
Labour councillor Poon Siu-ping expressed disappointment at the figures provided by the Labour Department, believing that the ordinance can spread to other industries, and pointed out that no one has been sentenced to the highest penalty for more than 300 subpoenas, which does not show the importance of the ordinance.
Member of the Legislative Council, Lu Junxiong, also pointed out that the provisions have been proposed for nearly 10 years, but they are still disappointed that they have not yet been extended to other industries, and questioned the overall lack of enforcement by the authorities.
He Qiming responded that it would be unfair to go to jail as long as he owes wages. He also said that even if there are regulations, sentencing still has to be handed over to the courts. He believes that the allegations of lax enforcement are biased.
Mak: Some employees think that the speed is slow and they don’t want to apply for a debt-breaking fund
Mak Mei-juan said that there are still improvements in the law to provide employees with greater protection. She also pointed out that the authorities should speed up the application for the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund so that employees will not be reluctant to apply because they think the application speed is slow. Work for employers who are in arrears of salary and believe that they will be paid if they continue to work. They will eventually "explode". I hope that the authorities can convince employees that applying for the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund can "stop the loss early."
Liberal Party Member Siu Ka-fai also suggested at the meeting that the authorities communicate more with small contractor associations and ask them for more opinions, hoping to make the industry understand and support it.
Rules of Procedure｜The Legislative Council will not compulsorily join the accounting, and the meeting will make up 50 people "enough." Xia Baolong said goodbye to the sub-house Liu Yeqiang: I do not think that a group will be set up for Ding Quan to review the "Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Program" at the end of next month As of the deadline, members are concerned about collective quarantine arrangements
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