In the post-epidemic economy, various industries are facing a shortage of manpower despite the urgent need to recruit. Surveys have revealed that almost 85% of wholesale and retail companies are experiencing long-term manpower shortages, with 90% in favor of importing foreign workers. However, some labor unions in the transportation industry are opposed to this, believing that improvements in wages and working conditions should be made first. The retirement of baby boomers and immigration have exacerbated the shortage of labor force in Hong Kong, and a human resource consultant suggests that the authorities should formulate terms for the importation of foreign workers to protect the rights and interests of local workers.
Retail and restaurants have posted recruitment notices, with some offering bonuses as incentives, but there is still a shortage of manpower at all levels. The trade union has pointed out that there is a serious shortage of green minibus drivers due to poor working conditions and urged the authorities to help improve the employment environment of drivers. On the other hand, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Lifesaving Workers Union has highlighted the need to attract newcomers to the industry and retain manpower by reviewing the salary package and grade structure of lifeguards and increasing the promotion ladder.
Hong Kong’s working population has dropped by over 200,000 in five years due to successive retirement of the baby boomers, decline in the birth rate, and immigration. The importation of foreign workers may affect the wages of local workers, and managing director Zhou Qiping suggests that government policies can protect the wages of local workers by ensuring that the wages of imported foreign workers should not be lower than the average wages of local workers, and adjust the wages according to the market each year.
Members of the Executive Council have expressed different opinions on the importation of labor, with some advocating for it, and others warning of potential negative impacts on the local job market.
As the economy returns to normal following the epidemic, all walks of life urgently need to recruit more manpower, but many industries are “unable to hire people”, whether it is medical care, lifeguards, drivers or restaurant food delivery, they all face a “talent shortage”. According to surveys, nearly 85% of wholesale and retail companies have long-term manpower shortages, and 90% are in favor of importing foreign workers. However, in the transportation industry, which is also “not enough people”, some labor unions have expressed their opposition to the importation of foreign workers, and believe that they should first start to improve wages and working conditions. A human resource consultant pointed out that the retirement of baby boomers and the wave of immigration further highlighted the shortage of labor force in Hong Kong. He also suggested that the authorities should formulate terms for the importation of foreign workers, which is believed to protect the rights and interests of local workers.
In recent months, many retail and restaurants have posted recruitment notices outside their stores, and some even set up newcomer bonuses and introducer bonuses of several thousand yuan as a solicitation; Talent shortage”. Legislative Council wholesaler and retailer Shaw Ka-fai interviewed 800 wholesalers and retailers with a questionnaire earlier. 84.3% of the interviewed companies said they faced long-term manpower shortage and recruitment difficulties. 32.6% of the interviewed companies said that they were short of 10% to 20% and 10% or less of manpower respectively, and 22.2% of the companies said that they had a shortage of 20% to 30%. As high as 91.5% of the interviewed companies expressed their support for the importation of foreign labor.
Chen Guoshihui, a representative of a cosmetics chain store, took her company as an example. There are regarding 150 job vacancies in Hong Kong. Among them, the loss of frontline personnel is the most serious, accounting for regarding 15% of the overall store employees in the local area. It is expected that the proportion will increase to regarding 25% following opening new stores. Job vacancies at all levels are equally prominent. Lin Weiwen, a representative of the pharmacy industry, also pointed out that since the epidemic, there has also been a large loss of talents in the industry, and his company’s manpower has also decreased by regarding 20%. Now it is necessary to use 5 people to share the workload of 7 people. Wei Lixia, representative of the department store chain, added that there were 300 vacancies at the front line of the group, accounting for 20% of the total staff. Nearly 40 branches had only one person on duty throughout the day. The business hours of other branches were also forced to be shortened. Give up the contract renewal operation.
Shao Jiahui pointed out that the current situation reflects that the industry has long been understaffed regardless of the frontline and back-office positions and that it is difficult to recruit enough local employees. It is suggested that the Hong Kong government launch the “Manpower Importation Plan for the Greater Bay Area” to allow mainland residents in the Greater Bay Area who have been granted work visas to come to Hong Kong. Same-day commute to work in Hong Kong and residence in the Greater Bay Area.
The trade union pointed out that green minibuses should not import drivers
Also facing the shortage of manpower in the transportation industry, Labor and Welfare Secretary Sun Yuhan recently proposed to refer to the “Special Plan for Importing Nursing Workers in Nursing Homes”. Later, it was pointed out that the authorities planned to allow the import of 500 green minibus drivers. Chen Fengyuan, director of the Public Light Bus Branch of the Automobile Transport Federation of Trade Unions, said yesterday that green minibus drivers generally work 9 hours per shift and can only earn regarding 500 to 540 yuan, which means a monthly salary of regarding 13,000 to 14,000 yuan; In order to save costs, many operators have not paid meal bills and holiday wages. Drivers even have to pay “deposit fees” to the company or car owners first. Chen Fengyuan pointed out that the poor working conditions lead to a shortage of green minibus drivers. He believes that the authorities should help improve the employment environment of drivers and attract them to enter the industry. He also stated that if the authorities import foreign labor minibus drivers, the trade union will not rule out a sit-in at the government headquarters and a judicial review .
In addition, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Lifesaving Workers Union also pointed out that there is a serious shortage of lifeguards, which is expected to cause only 18 of the 39 public beaches in Hong Kong to provide lifesaving services. The authorities are reviewing the salary package and grade structure of lifeguards, and increasing the promotion ladder to attract newcomers to the industry and retain manpower.
The Hospital Authority has also recently gone to the UK to “grab for talents”. It held a recruitment event in London for two consecutive days. The Chief Executive Officer Gao Basheng personally lobbied to encourage London medical students and practicing doctors to work in Hong Kong. According to the Hospital Authority, the event attracted more than 500 locally trained medical students and practicing doctors to attend in person or online. In the future, it will actively promote it to different countries and regions, and recruit more qualified candidates through special registration or limited registration plans. Non-locally trained doctors.
Statistics: The working population has dropped by more than 200,000 in 5 years
According to statistics from the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s working population once exceeded 4.0059 million in mid-2018, but continued to decline following falling below the 3.9 million mark in 2020. From December 2022 to February this year, the latest record was 3.766 million, a sharp drop from the peak 239,900 people. The unemployment rate in Hong Kong has also dropped for 10 consecutive months. It was just announced that the unemployment rate from December last year to February this year has dropped to 3.3%.
Zhou Qiping, managing director of Yizhi Consulting Company, was interviewed by this newspaper and pointed out that it is difficult to recruit high-tech positions, such as the technology industry, medical care industry, and construction engineering industry. According to her analysis, due to the successive retirement of the baby boomers and the subsequent decline in the birth rate, Hong Kong’s human resources began to decline following peaking in 2018; coupled with the immigration wave in Hong Kong in recent years, the shortage of labor force in Hong Kong has been further exacerbated. As for whether the importation of foreign workers will affect the wages of local workers, she believes that it mainly depends on government policies. The authorities can formulate provisions to protect the wages of local workers, such as ensuring that the wages of imported foreign workers should not be lower than the average wages of local workers, and the wages will be adjusted according to the market each year. Adjustment of relevant salary levels.
Regarding the importation of labor, members of the Executive Council have recently expressed different opinions. Among them, Liberal Party Legislative Council catering industry member Zhang Yuren accepted an exclusive interview with the media. He believed that the catering industry needs to import foreign workers, and 2,000 people can be imported first to relieve the pressure on local employees. Wu Qiubei, president of the Federation of Trade Unions, believes that the authorities should do a good job in human resource planning and clarify the situation realistically. He is worried that if the authorities rashly import foreign workers, it will hit the local job market.
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/local/Imported labor continues to cause controversy – 85% of retail sales are long-term lack of workers – the economy is returning to normal – it is difficult to hire people / 369858?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
The shortage of manpower in industries such as medical care, transportation, and retail has become a pressing issue as the economy returns to normal following the epidemic. With a decline in the working population due to the retirement of baby boomers and immigration wave, Hong Kong is facing a serious labor shortage. To alleviate this, many businesses are in favor of importing foreign workers, although some labor unions and members of the Executive Council have raised concerns regarding the impact on the local job market and the need to improve wages and working conditions. The authorities are urged to formulate terms for the importation of foreign workers to protect the rights and interests of local employees. It is hoped that measures will be taken to address the talent shortage and ensure a stable workforce for continued economic growth in Hong Kong.
